1920's

1920's Summaries

Prohibition

The Prohibition started in 1919 and continued on until 1931 creating much dispute and conflict between the people. Some people became very angry over the banning of alcohol and others believed it would better the nation. The Prohibition stated that the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol for the consumption were banned nationally. On Dec. 19th, 1917 a proposal was made to create an 18th amendment for the banning of alcohol. This proposal was approved by 36 states and ratified on Jan. 16th, 1919. Kansas was the first nation to ban the consumption of alcohol with great help from Carrie Nation. Carrie Nation and her group would go into bars and smash bottles, destroying the bar, and scolding costumers tell them they should be at home with their families. The banning of alcohol did not stop people from drinking though. Many people still drank illegally and bootleggers were making the big bucks. In New York alone, 1925, there was 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs. A speakeasy club sells alcohol illegally. The Prohibition act was created to stop drinking but in reality it was so unpopular that people had private drinking parties, would sell illegally, and many riots were created. During the time of the depression the fighting and riots became worse, consumption of alcohol illegally was at an all time high and things were getting worse. On March 20,1933 President Franklin signed into law to allow the consumption and sale of alcohol again. When the Prohibition was ended only half of the breweries reopened. At the end some admitted the failure of the Prohibition act but others stood strong by it.


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** Scopes Monkey Trial Summary **
 * The Scopes Monkey Trial is best known in history for its conflict between science and faith. In 1925, a young school teacher named John Scopes was put on trial in Dayton, Tennessee for violating the state law against teaching evolution in the classroom. The two most famous attorneys of the time faced off in the trial. They were William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. The American Civil Liberties Union had offered to defend anyone who flouted the Tennessee law. George Rappelyea realized that Dayton would get a lot of attention if a teacher was arrested for the law, so John Scopes was enlisted and arranged to teach from a book promoting evolution. The trial had a carnival-like atmosphere. For 12 days in July, 1925, 100 reporters sent dispatches. **
 * The defense was not allowed to use scientists as witnesses. The defense team therefore called Bryan to testify on the bible. He eventually said that Creation was not completed in a short period of time. Bryan opposed Darwinism and thought it was “the merciless law by which the strong crowd out and kill off the weak.” Scopes taught about the five races of man and the highest race he taught were Caucasians. **
 * Darrow changed his clients plea to guilty and Scopes was fined 100$ when convicted. However, since the judge determined the fine and not the jury, the conviction was thrown out. The anti-evolution law was thrown out in 1967 for violating the first amendment for establishing a religion. 5 days after the trial, Bryan died of apoplexy. Scopes became a chemical engineer and died in 1970. **
 * Two conclusions to the trial were that legislatures should not restrain the freedom of scientific inquiry, and that society should respect academic freedom. **

Woman's Liberation In 1920 women gained the right to vote and with this women gained more freedoms then they had before. Not only did they gain the right to vote they were also now allowed to be on juries and hold public office. Many male politicians raced to gain women’s vote by supporting what the women wanted; they supported child labor laws, health care clinics, and equal rights. By the end of the 1920’s though many of these ideas failed, labor laws failed, and congress failed to fund the clinics. Besides the right to vote, women also gained a different kind of freedom that had never been seen before; they began to change how the traditional woman was seen. Women began to change the fashion and many saw it as fast or brazen. They began to wear shorter skirts and they turned down the idea of hose and powdered knees, it was the first century that women’s legs were seen. The masculine look for women also became more popular, this included a bobbed hair cut, flattened breasts and hips. Women were no longer confined to their homes and to tradition. Harding Scandals Warren G. Harding was a senator from 1915 until 1921 and then became the president from 1921 until 1923, making him the 29th president. While in office he had affairs and was in many scandals. Warren most famous scandal was the Teapot Dome scandal. Harding was in this scandal because he was part of the people who were stealing oil from Teapot Dome. Harding had an affair with his best friend’s wife Mrs. Carrie Fulton Phillips, and also had an affair with a nineteen year old female named Nan Britton. Nan Britton wrote a book and in her book she told about Warren Harding and her relationship. Nan Britton also stated that Harding had got her pregnant in his Senate Office. Harding wrote love letters to Carrie Phillips, and Carrie Phillips keep Harding’s letters. The letters showed that Harding had a 15-year long affair with Carrie. The letters Harding had written to Carrie Phillips is under Ohio court protective order until it expires in 2024. The scandals and affairs became public after his death in 1923, so he didn’t get to see how the public reacted to the news.

Tulsa Race Riot On Monday, May 30, Dick Rowland, a nineteen-year-old shoeshine boy, was on his way to the black-only restroom on the top floor of the Drexel Building. He tripped walking into the elevator and grabbed the arm of Sarah Page, the elevator operator, to keep from falling. She was surprised and let out a scream. This startled Dick, and he ran out of the building. A clothing store clerk heard the scream and saw Dick run out of the building. She called police, who, in turn questioned Sarah. The police concluded that Dick’s actions were accidental, not an assault. Meanwhile, Dick sought refuge in his mother’s house in the Greenwood district overnight. On Tuesday, police located Rowland and took him into protective custody in the Tulsa County Courthouse. The Tulsa Tribune heard about the arrest. The headline of the afternoon edition read, “Police Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator.” Crowds of African Americans gathered at the Courthouse to assist the sheriff’s deputies. This only served to attract even larger crowds of whites. As afternoon turned into evening, the crowds armed themselves. A contingent of armed African American World War I veterans gathered at the Courthouse to defend Rowland. Around 10 p.m. a white man confronted one of the veterans. A scuffle took place, and a gun went off. The fight soon moved into the Greenwood neighborhood. By the time the National Guard arrived at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, 35 blocks of the Greenwood neighborhood had been destroyed. There were 39 confirmed dead (twenty-six African American, thirteen white); 800 were injured. Later reports put the number killed as high as 300. Nobody was ever charged with an offense associated with the riot. Dick Rowland was released from custody in September without being charged.





//Charles Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh was born February 4, 1902 in detriot but grew up on a farm near Little Falls, Minnesota. Charles Lindbergh's father was a lawyer and served as a U.S. congressmen for Minnesota from 1907 to 1917, and his mom lodged land. Charles entered the University of Wisconsin at age 18 to study engineering but 2 years later he left school to become a barnstormer, which is a pilot who performs daredevil stunts at fairs. In 1919 a hotel owner by the name of Raymond Orteig offered $25,000 for the first person to successfully fly from New York to Paris. On May 20, 1927 Charles Lindbergh took off in Spirit of St. Louis from Roosevelt Field at 7:52 a.m. May 21, 1927 he landed at Le Bourget Field at 10:21 p.m.//