Prohibition & Fundamentalism

America in the 1920’s

Words to know:• Prohibition (18th Amendment) – Banning the

sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol

• Anti-Saloon League – Group of prohibitionists who helped ban alcohol by asking its members to vote only for candidates that would ban alcohol.

• Bootleggers – Smugglers who brought in alcohol from other countries (smuggled in their boot)

• Speakeasies – Secret illegal clubs that served alcohol

Bell Ringer

•In what ways does alcohol hurt a society? In what ways can it benefit

a society?

Influence of alcohol on society:

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/watch-video/#id=2082675582

Rights vs. Right:

The movement to ban alcohol became a debate between what is the right thing to do and what is a person’s right to do.

Rural areas: Favored prohibitionUrban areas: Against prohibition

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/watch-video/#id=2086030190

The Anti-Saloon league

-Influential organization that opposed the use of Alcohol

-- Asked its members to vote only for candidates who would ban alcohol

-- Would help to get the 18th Amendment passed

What does the Eighteenth

Amendment State?

• Forbade the “manufacture, sale, or transportation” of alcoholic beverages in the United States

• Ratified on January 16, 1919• Took effect on January 17,

1920

How Was the 18th AmendmentEnforced?

Volstead Act

The Volstead Act set federal punishments for the

manufacture and sale of Alcohol

What happens now?• Although alcohol

was illegal, people still wanted to drink it

• So…• They found a way• How?

1. Bootleggers2. Speakeasies

Bootleggers• Smugglers who brought

liquor into the United States from other countries, such as Canada and Mexico

• Usually smuggled in boats

• Named because they would often hide alcohol bottles in their boots

Speakeasies

Secret illegal clubs that served alcohol

The name speakeasy came from the need for customers to keep quiet

about the location of the clubs

But they were often supplied alcohol by gangsters like Al Capone

What was a consequence of

the 18th Amendment

and the Volstead Act?

Together they turned everyday citizens into criminals.

The Rise of the “Original Gangster”

Al Capone Schooling

-Al Capone found school “a place of constant discipline relieved by sudden outbreaks of violence...“

-Al did quite well in school until the sixth grade when his steady

record of B's deteriorated rapidly.

- At fourteen, he lost his temper at the teacher, she hit him and he hit her back. He was expelled and

never went to school again.

“ScarFace” * Capone would befriend Crime boss Johnny Torrio and began bouncing/bartending at The Harvard Inn in New York City

* Capone insulted a patron and angered the man with her. (He pulled out a knife and cut Capone’s face)

Move to Chicago…At the age of 22, Capone came into being business partners with Torrio in Chicago and ran the Four Deuces (a speakeasy, gambling joint, and brothel)

As violence erupted between Torrio/Capone’s “Chicago outfit” and the Irish North Side Gang, Torrio would leave for Europe in 1925 and give total control to Capone.

The Feud Continues…

North Side gang leader George “Bugs” Moran attempted to kill Capone and his men in Sept. 1926 (they fired shots at Capone while he was sitting in his hotel lobby).

Capone waited 3 years to retaliate…

St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

• Valentines Day – February 14, 1929

• Rival between Al Capone and Bugs Moran• Capone – South Side Italian

gang• Moran – North Side Irish

gang

• Bloody murder of 7 of Moran’s men.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2085881894

/

• Capone could never been officially connected to any violent crime in all the years within the mob

• In 1931 Capone was indicted for income tax evasion and various violations of the Volstead Act (Prohibition). His attorneys made a plea deal, but the presiding judge warned he might not follow the sentencing recommendation from the prosecution. Capone withdrew his plea of guilty.

Capone’s Arrest

GUILTY• October 17, 1931, after 9 hours of discussion,

the jury found Capone guilty of some counts but not all counts of tax evasion.

• The judge sentenced Capone to 11 years, $50,000 in fines and court costs of another $30,000.

Alcatraz Prison

Alcohol wasn’t the only issue at the time

• Fundamentalists

• In FUNDAMENTALISM, the bible is literally true and considered an indisputable authority

• Modernists

• In MODERNISM, the bible was divinely inspired but not literally true

• Although prohibition brought Protestant groups together, other issues divided the group into two:

Fundamentalists• Movements name came from The Fundamentals,

a series of pamphlets explaining conservative Protestant beliefs

• Many were attracted because they did not trust modern industry and science

• Revival meetings & Radio sermons • Supporters

• Billy “The Evangelist” Sunday – Baseball Player Preacher

• Aimee Semple McPherson – Canadian-Born Preacher

Fundamentalism Vs. Science

Why did these groups clash?

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

• Evolution – The process of gradual change in the gene pool over an extended period of time

• Darwin argued that humans evolved from simpler life forms over millions of years

• Fundamentalist did not like this because….• Theory went against the literal interpretation

of the biblical account of creationism.

Scopes Trial1. 1925 Tennessee made

it illegal to teach evolution

2. ACLU believed this was unconstitutional, offered to defend any challengers

3. John Scopes, a High School Biology Teacher, accepted the challenge

4. He was arrested and put to trial

Scopes Trial• Support was split

between Scopes and the Fundamentalists

• Clarence Darrow led the defense

• William Jennings Bryan led the prosecution

• More than 100 reporters flooded Dayton, Tennessee

• Town became a “zoo”

The verdict• John Scopes was

found…

• GUILTY

• Fined $100

• Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the decision in 1927 but….

• The law against teaching evolution stayed in place

What does the caption suggest?

What issues do religious groups Feel

Strongly about today?

1. Abortion 2. Contraception

3. Same-Sex Marriage