Jan 18- Took notes
12.-Scopes-Monkey Trial
There was a struggle between the modern scientific people and the christian fundamentalists
Fundamentalists believed everything could be explained by the Bible
They disagreed with the theory of evolution especially
Charles Darwin- theory of evolution
In 1925 tennessee passed the first law making it illegal to teach evolution in school
The American Civil Liberties Union said it would defend any teacher willing to break the law
John Scopes, biology teacher from Dayton accepted
Scopes taught evolution and was arrested
Clarence Darrow was hired by the AClU to defend Scopes
William Jennings Bryan was the special prosecutor
Scopes did not deny teaching evolution
Darrow called Bryan to the stand and asked him questions about the Bible
Darrow made Bryan look foolish
In the end, Scopes was found guilty and fined 100 dollars
1.-Prohibition and gangsters
Noble Experiment
18th amendment- the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages was illegal
supporters believed alcohol brought about corruptions, crime wife and child abuse and accidents
supporters came mostly from rural south and west- protestant
anti-saloon league and women’s christian temperance union led the attack on alcohol
Alcohol was allowed for medicinal and religious purposes
Prescriptions and sacramental
saloons closed and drunkenness went down
the Volstead act created the prohibition bureau to enforce the law
prohibition failed for three reasons
people despised it, saw it as government meddling in lives
the Prohibition bureau was underfunded- had 1500 people to supervise the country
organized crime became commonplace
Prohibition Bureau would go and break cegs
Bootlegging-illegally making or distributing alcohol
Bootleggers
people that made or transported alcohol
named because people carried liquor in the logs of boots
most imported alcohol came from Canada or outside the US
Biggest threat to the bootlegging- hijacking
Moonshine- alcohol made secretly in homemade stills
Several hundred people a year died from drinking moonshine during the 1920’s
IN 1929 it is estimated that 700 million gallons of beer were produced in American homes
Speakeasies- to obtain alcohol illegally, people went underground to secret bars, could be anywhere, moved frequently, to be admitted a card or passard had to be given
Every major city had it’s gang
Al Capone's bootlegging business in Chicago made over 60 million per year
Due to gang violence only 19 of the Americans supported prohibition by 1925
Prohibition was repealed in 1933 by the 21st amendment
Al Capone- scarface
St. Valentine’s massacre,
taken down by tax evasion
died in 1940’s
Jan 19-
9.-The Model T and the impact of the automobile
Model T made for the average American
Horses were problems in the cities
Impact
Transportation
Could commute
Kids would leave and wouldn’t come back
Vacations
Created jobs
Accidents/ drunk driving
Pollution
Only Black
Route 66- transcontinental highway, from Chicago to LA
- Interstates- 1950’s
Harding
From Ohio
Newspaper business
Gave gov. positions to friends
Corruption
Broke 18th amendment (alcohol)
Affairs
Teapot Dome Scandal
Rock in Wyoming
The US had oil reserves on the land
Decided to lease land to two specific oil companies because of bribes
Coolidge
Became Pres. because Harding died
Believer in doing as little as possible, gov not here to make money for people, here to protect
20’s was the last old type of government
Business is what drives America
Hoover
West branch, IA
Popular when he became president
“Era of permanent prosperity”
WWI- Head of Food Administration
Republican Philosophy:
Trickle-down theory
Gov going to lower tax breaks on the theory
Rich controlled businesses
Didn’t want to give people welfare checks
Laissez-faire
No gov regulation on business
Break up monopolies
Rugged individualism
Republicans believed in it
Up to you to determine your success
Normalcy
- Go back to isolationism
Jan 20-
8.-Lots of strikes-Boston Police, US Steel, United Mine Workers
National labor board discouraged strikes during WWI
People are striking to get better wages, conditions and hours
Crime rises when police go on strike
- Post WWII is when they got better wages
4.-Entertainment, sports, music, radio, movies and fads
Flappers, Jazz music, speakeasies
Movies
Greta Garbo
Clara Bow
Mary Pickford
Charlie Chaplin- black hat, mustache
Deemed a communist, left the US came back once in forty years to receive award
Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer- paint black
The Marx Brothers- comedians
Harry Houdini- magician/escape artist
Bonneville shows
Babe Ruth- baseball, most famous athlete
Tunny, Dempsey- heavyweight fights
Bobby Jones- golfers
Bill Tilden- tennis
Red Grange- football
F. Scott Fitzgerald- author of Great Gatsby
- Barnstorming shows- airplanes
Jan 21-
5.-Economy-Booming economy and stock market, buying on credit, high tariffs
GDP was high
When people have money, they put it back into the economy
“Buy now, pay later”- stock market was booming
Buying on margin- buying stocks on credit
High Tariff Policy
tariff- tax on imported goods, so people buy American goods
Progressives wanted to lower tariffs in the 1900’s
Republican’s raised tariffs in the ‘20’s
Companies weren’t making money off of Americans
After the crash, Hoover raised tariffs
The Era of Permanent Prosperity
“As long as everyone has faith, everything will be fine.”
Oct. 29, 1929
10.-Electricity in the homes and new appliances
Prior to electricity- candles, oil lamps
Thomas Edison- lightbulb
Edison/Tesla- direct vs indirect current
In 1929 indirect became standard
People could work into the night
Jan 22-
13.-Stock Market Crash-causes
Stock- buying a part of a company
Buying stock on margin allowed middle class citizens to purchase stock
Broker borrows money from the bank, the people borrow money from the broker
Dow Jones- 30 of the largest companies in the US
Causes of the Crash
Stock prices were grossly inflated, did not have real value- watered stock prices (overpriced, the company is actually losing money)
Over-speculation during the 1920’s led to watered stock
Buying on margin- people were in debt
Overproduction of goods/ under-consumption by consumers
Uneven distribution of wealth- people weren’t buying, they were saving
Too much borrowing from banks
Not secure will their loans
People couldn’t pay it off
Federal reserve increased interest rates-
Banks borrowed money from the Fed. reserve
Had to raise interest rates to make the money “real”
Should have had higher interest rate throughout the 20’s to prevent debt
Lack of government regulation
Banks used to take your money and invested it into the stockmarket
- Pooling- rich people buying stock in the company then the rest of the population will invest too
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