Analyze the impact prohibition had on crime Examine

Analyze the impact prohibition had on crime. Examine what the Scopes trial and the religious movements of the 1920’s revealed about American society.

� Would you rather be very hairy all over or completely bald? � In what ways did electricity change society in the 1920’s? � What were American’s daily lives like after automobiles became readily available? � “Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel from coast to coast without seeing anything. ” Charles Kuralt Time Table � Bell Work – 10 min. � Lecture Notes – 25 min. � The Golden Twenties – 20 min.

� Prohibition �Progressives hoped a ban on alcohol would reduce crime, family violence and poverty. �In some regions prohibition was strictly enforced. �However, in many parts of the country, mostly cities, it was largely ignored. �Americans frequented speakeasies, clubs or bars where liquor was sold illegally. �Some made their own liquor, bought bootleg alcohol or illegally smuggled it in from Canada, Mexico or the West Indies.

�Capone Bootlegging became one of the decade’s most profitable businesses. In large cities, criminal gangs controlled liquor sales. Al Capone ruled Chicago’s under world with his army of mobsters. Capone gained control over sales through violent war on rival gangs. Violence reached a peak on Saint Valentine’s Day 1929 when several members of Capone’s gang massacred seven members of a rival gang.

�Eliot Ness Hoping to stem bootlegging, corruption, and violence, the federal Prohibition Bureau hired special agent Eliot Ness organized a group of detectives, due to their dedication and honesty, the group was nicknamed the Untouchables. Ness ended Capone’s reign over the Chicago underworld in 1931 for tax evasion. Despite a drop in alcoholism and alcohol-related deaths, prohibition turned millions of law abiding citizens into crooks. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-First Amendment.

�The “New Woman” Young women’s behavior, dress and attitude changed. This “new woman” was now being discussed in literature, films and magazines as stylish, adventurous, independent and often career minded. Flappers was the name given to the new style. Flappers enjoyed defying what the traditional woman was through short hair, short skirts, driving cars, playing sports and smoking. American women began working in a variety of occupations.

�Mass Entertainment Radio �Emerged in the 1920’s and 800 stations reached over 10 million people by 1929. Movies �Performances of silent film stars such as Lon Chaney and Charlie Chaplin captivated audiences. �Epic films such as The Ten Commandments were created by Cecil B Demille. �The end of the silent era came in 1927 with the first “talkie”, The Jazz Singer. Sports �Professional sports emerged in the twenties, athletes such as Red Grange, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Lou Gehrig had stand out seasons.