Changing Ways of Life

Changing Ways of Life Chapter 13-1

Rural & Urban Differences • Between 1922 & 1929 more than 2 million people would leave their rural communities for the city • The charm & close personal relationships would give way to the culture & fast pace of city life

The New Urban Scene • City life was much different than that of the country side • Life was booming, fast paced, & industrially based • The population make up was a melting pot of cultures, religions, & languages • During the day an estimated 300,000 workers crowed the streets, 150,000 cars rushed down the highway, & 20,000 trolley’s rushed people to their destination • At night the city was just as alive as people crowed the theaters, restaurants, playhouses • The adjustment for many would not be easy as they traded their small town values, close ties, & strict morals for the big city world of anonymous crowds, money makers, & pleasure seekers

The Prohibition Experiment • One example of a clash in values was over the issue of Prohibition or the ban on the sale, manufacture, or consumption of alcohol • The 18th Amendment would ignite this conflict • Reformers viewed alcohol as a source of corruption as it led to drunkenness, wife & child abuse, accidents, as well as other social evils • Support for the legislation came largely from the Protestant community in the South & West • Organizations such as the Anti-Saloon league & the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) also helped push the Amendment through • At first saloons closed their doors but after WWI people were tired of making sacrifices & wanted to have fun • Immigrants did not view drink as a sin, but rather a natural part of socializing & they resented the governments interference in their lives

The Prohibition Experiment • The fate of Prohibition would be determined by the government as they would be unable to enforce the law • The Volstead Act was passed with the intention of giving enforcement powers to local officials as well as creating the Prohibition Bureau within the Treasury department • The department was grossly understaffed & ill trained with 1,500 officers • The bureau had the responsibility of patrolling 18,700 miles of coastline, as well as inland boarders, tracking down illegal stills, monitoring highways for illegal contraband, & monitoring those industries that used alcohol for manufacturing purposes • It was an impossible task

Speakeasies & Bootleggers • To satisfy their desire for alcohol many went underground to hidden saloons or nightclubs called speakeasies • These illegal saloons were so called because you would speak easy so not to draw attention • To gain entrance you had to show a card or know the proper password • Once inside you would find men & women from all walks of life • Still others would learn to brew their own alcohol from home stills • These folks were called bootleggers, named for those who would smuggle liquor in their boots

Organized Crime • Prohibition not only generated disrespect for the law but also contributed to the growth of organized crime in nearly every major city • One of the most famous was Al Capone of Chicago • Capone would take control of the Chicago liquor business by killing off his competition

Organized Crime • By the mid 1920’s only 19% of Americans supported Prohibition • Many believed that the “experiment” caused more issues than the initial problem while others believed that it strengthened moral values • The 18th Amendment would remain in force until it was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933

Prohibition: Cause & Effect

American Fundamentalism • Another controversy that stuck society was that of religion & their fundamentalist thinkers versus science & their discoveries • The fundamentalists were Protestants who believed in literal or nonsymbolic interpretation of the bible • Once such theory that was highly contested was the idea of evolution • Fundamentalist were appalled at the idea that humans had developed from apes after all the bible states that humans were created by God • Fundamentalist preachers such as Billy Sunday & Aimee McPherson preached against evolution across the country • The issue would come to a head in 1925 with the Scopes trial

The Scopes Trial • In 1925 Tennessee passed the first state law that made teaching evolution illegal • John Scopes a biology teacher would challenge the law by teaching evolution in his classroom • Scopes was arrested & sent to trial • Scopes was defended by famed attorney Clarence Darrow • The state was represented by William Jennings Bryan Clarence Darrow & William Jennings Bryan

The Scopes Trial • The trial was not about guilt or innocence but rather the role of science & religion in public schools as well as American society • During the trial Darrow would called Bryn an expert on the bible grilling him on religious beliefs until Bryan admitted the bible might be interpreted in different ways • In the end Scopes was found guilty & fined $100, but was later overturned, & the law remained in tact

Changing Ways of Life