DOCSLIB.ORG

Miskolci Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Modern Filológiai Intézet

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Miskolci Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Modern Filológiai Intézet Miskolci Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Kar Modern Filológiai Intézet THE WAR FOR THE SOBER AMERICA PROHIBITION IN THE UNITED STATES Készítette: Konzulens: Konyári Ádám Láng Viktória Anglisztika, BA tudományos segédmunkatárs Miskolc, 2017 Table of contents Table of contents .................................................................................................................... 2 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 4 2. The Alcoholic Republic ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1. Early times .................................................................................................................. 6 2.2. The Whiskey Ring ...................................................................................................... 6 2.2. The Comstock Law ..................................................................................................... 7 2.3. Consumption on the rise ............................................................................................. 8 2.4. Women against alcohol and the Anti-Saloon League ................................................. 8 2.5. The Eighteenth Amendment ..................................................................................... 10 2.6. The Nineteenth Amendment ..................................................................................... 11 3. The rise of the Noble Experiment .................................................................................... 12 3.1. Prohibition inside out ................................................................................................ 12 3.2. Ethnic changes and the consequences ....................................................................... 12 3.2. Organized crime and corruption ............................................................................... 13 3.3. “For the Greater Good” ............................................................................................. 15 3.4. Prohibition and the Ku Klux Klan ............................................................................ 16 4. The Fall and Aftermath .................................................................................................... 18 4.1. Freedom for every entrepreneur ................................................................................ 18 4.2. The Great Depression ............................................................................................... 18 4.3. The Twenty-First Amendment .................................................................................. 19 4.4. The Aftermath ........................................................................................................... 20 5. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 21 6. Works Cited ..................................................................................................................... 22 7. Összefoglalás ................................................................................................................... 24 “I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.” (Alphonse Gabriel Capone 1. Introduction My thesis is built upon the idea of investigating the chronology of alcohol prohibition in the United States, providing an altered perspective concerning social and political factors, criminal activity, governmental control, giving my straightforward answer for why the so-called “Noble Experiment” failed in the end. During my research my intention was to focus on the less-known history of Prohibition, with the introduction of more recent studies regarding the topic. I think Prohibition and its consequences are often mentioned only in the footnotes of the history books nowadays, but the topic deserves way more than that. However, Prohibition was a stillborn idea, we can learn from even today. The prohibition in the United States is often pointed out as one of the great missteps in the nation’s timeline. Alcohol itself has been a real part of the American culture since the beginning of the colonial era. Centuries later U.S. government yet introduced a nation-wide ban of the production and distribution of the substance. For many people liquor was a part of the everyday life, an extension of freedom the Americans fought to gain. Throughout the years the consumption of alcohol raised in the country causing the “Temperance” groups to appear alongside with the women’s rights movements. The civil activists who fought against alcohol had the common name of “Drys” and many of them believed that alcohol was generally making the world a worse place and the only solution is the absolute prohibition that would provide crime and morally questionable behavior to disappear from the face of America. The campaign of the Drys reached their ultimate goal on the 18th of December, 1918 when the National Prohibition Act passed in the United States Congress, later known as Volstead-Act. The 18th amendment was introduced by Andrew Volstead to the United States Congress. The act enabled the legislation of for the enforcement of Prohibition in the United States beginning in 1920. Ironically the triumph of the Volstead Act caused the prohibitionist movements to collapse. The demand for alcohol was still unquestionably high and there were many who were willing to operate outside the law providing illegal liquor nationwide. Some even began to store large quantities of booze even before the Volstead-Act passed to sell the stock afterwards. After 1920 alcohol became the most fruitful product for criminals and made some of them extremely wealthy and powerful. Organized crime skyrocketed and became 4 almost invincible for the authorities because of the resourceful criminals and the wide-spread corruption. Interestingly, prohibition caused some brighter social and cultural changes too. The so-called speakeasy and blind pig bars were establishments operated illegally but they were far more open for women than the bars in the days before prohibition. The era of “men only” bars came to an end. These establishments also gave a kick start to jazz music and the related culture. Nevertheless, way too many people wanted to gain some profit from the booze business and home manufacturers started to appear. The moonshiners were operating usually nighttime at some remote location, producing poor quality liquor which caused the death of thousands of people during the prohibition. Prohibition did not elevate the American society to a higher level, did not stop crime, poverty, social issues but the opposite. The era was not a black and white conflict of good versus evil, but a far more complex struggle of a nation with itself. In a little more than a decade the Volstead-Act lost its support in every layer of the American society and was finally revoked in 1933. All in all, the introduction of the Volstead Act was in fact the culmination of previous events concerning to repel alcohol consumption in the United States. The Noble Experiment had a memorable impact in the life of the American citizens. Many already-existing criminals begun new illegal activities, and many who were previously innocent become somehow involved in crime. In the end, the history of Prohibition in America is a cautionary story. Any kind of Prohibition has to be discussed in many perspectives. However, it was a complete failure its legacy still lives with the American people. In the recent years many historians and authors started to reevaluate what we thought about prohibition. In this thesis my main goal is to review the whole era of prohibition in chronological order, introduce the recent discoveries and provide my own interpretation for how the war for the sober America got lost. 5 2. The Alcoholic Republic 2.1. Early times A critical episode started for the American middle class when prohibition was introduced as a result of series efforts mostly by this particular social class. From the very beginning, hard liquors and spirits such as rum and whiskey always had a noble place in the nation’s history. Rum was a vital part in the Triangular slave trade between Africa and the Americas. Whiskey often meant the only acceptable currency for people living in the North- American wilderness. In 1791 the newly formed federal government introduced the taxation of whiskey. It was the first tax imposed on a domestic product during the presidency of George Washington. The result was the broke-out of the Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) which meant public protest against the new tax across the United States. As a result of the better economic environment in the new independent America alcohol consumption skyrocketed in the late 18th century, especially from the beginning of the 19th century. (Johnson) 2.2. The Whiskey Ring After the Civil War, the government was seeking possible sources of income for the restoration. The taxation of whiskey showed great potential, but instead of a reliable source of federal income, it became the root of corruption. The Whiskey Ring scandal broke out in 1875 in St. Louis and it became on f the major scandals in the history of the United States. It involved hundreds of individuals, storekeepers, politicians, distillers, reporters and federal agents in St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Washington D.C. The corruption
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A General Model of Illicit Market Suppression A
    ALL THE SHIPS THAT NEVER SAILED: A GENERAL MODEL OF ILLICIT MARKET SUPPRESSION A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Government. By David Joseph Blair, M.P.P. Washington, DC September 15, 2014 Copyright 2014 by David Joseph Blair. All Rights Reserved. The views expressed in this dissertation do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. ii ALL THE SHIPS THAT NEVER SAILED: A GENERAL MODEL OF TRANSNATIONAL ILLICIT MARKET SUPPRESSION David Joseph Blair, M.P.P. Thesis Advisor: Daniel L. Byman, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This model predicts progress in transnational illicit market suppression campaigns by comparing the relative efficiency and support of the suppression regime vis-à-vis the targeted illicit market. Focusing on competitive adaptive processes, this ‘Boxer’ model theorizes that these campaigns proceed cyclically, with the illicit market expressing itself through a clandestine business model, and the suppression regime attempting to identify and disrupt this model. Success in disruption causes the illicit network to ‘reboot’ and repeat the cycle. If the suppression network is quick enough to continually impose these ‘rebooting’ costs on the illicit network, and robust enough to endure long enough to reshape the path dependencies that underwrite the illicit market, it will prevail. Two scripts put this model into practice. The organizational script uses two variables, efficiency and support, to predict organizational evolution in response to competitive pressures.
    [Show full text]
  • Prohibition, American Cultural Expansion, and the New Hegemony in the 1920S: an Interpretation
    Prohibition, American Cultural Expansion, and the New Hegemony in the 1920s: An Interpretation IAN TYRRELL* In the [920s American prohibitionists, through the World League against Alcohol­ ism, sought to extend their war on liquor beyond the boundaries of the United States. Prohibitionistsfailed in their efforts due to anti-American sentiment, complex class and cultural opposition to prohibition, and negative reporting of the experi­ ment with prohibition in the U.S. Nevertheless, restrictive anti-alcohol laws were introduced in a number ofcountries. Moreover, the efforts ofAmerican prohibition­ ists furthered the larger process of American cultural expansion by emphasizing achievements of the U.S. in economic modernization and technical advancement. This episode in American cultural expansion occurred with the support of anti­ alcohol groups in foreign countries that embraced the message equating American reform with modernity. Prohibitionists abroad colluded in the process, thereby accepting a form ofAmerican cultural hegemony. En 1920, par l'intermédiaire de la World League against Alcoholism, les prohibi­ tionnistes américains se sont efforcés de pousser leur lutte contre l'alcool au-delà des frontières des États-Unis. Cependant, le sentiment anti-américain, l'opposition complexe des classes et de la culture à l'endroit de la prohibition ainsi que la mauvaise presse dont l'expérience américaine a fait l'objet ont fait échouer leurs efforts. Néanmoins, plusieurs pays ont adopté des lois restrictives contre l'alcool. Qui plus est, les efforts des prohibitionnistes américains ont favorisé l'expansion de la culture américaine en mettant en valeur les réussites des É.-u. au chapitre de la modernisation économique et de l'avancement de la technologie.
    [Show full text]
  • Foundations of the Temperance Movement and the Road to Prohibition
    Foundations of the Temperance Movement and the Road to Prohibition The roots of America’s Temperance Movement can be traced back to the early 19th century. By the 1820s the average American consumed the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per year. Exactly how much is 7 gallons of pure alcohol? Let’s assume that only beer is being consumed, and that this beer has an alcohol content of 5%. The average drinker would have to consume 140 gallons of beer each year to reach this amount. That’s nearly 2.7 gallons a week! These numbers continued to rise throughout the 19th century – by 1890, the amount of alcohol consumed in America had increased a further 23 times. Why did Americans consume such a high quantity of alcohol, and why did numbers keep rising? One of the reasons was insufficient access to clean drinking water. Beer is brewed at high temperatures, which pasteurizes the drink and removes contaminants. Liquors (such as rum and whisky) are distilled and very strong, which also means that microbes cannot survive. Alcoholic beverages were known to be much safer to drink because they didn’t contain microbes and bacteria. The fact that so many Americans viewed alcoholic drinks as safe alternatives to all-to-often dodgy water supplies was compounded by the high number of saloons that were established throughout the country. These saloons, which were often operated by first generation Americans and financed by large breweries, sold their drinks at very low prices. Alcoholic beverages were said to be safer than water and cheaper than tea! Many Americans also took to brewing and fermenting their own alcohol; hard cider was especially popular.
    [Show full text]
  • Opens New Window
    SmithMarkCCOLA20202.pdf VITA MARK CALVIN SMITH American Studies 7817 El Dorado 1 University Station Austin, Texas 78737 University of Texas at Austin B7100 512-992-1026 Austin, Texas 78712 Cell: 512-221-0571 512-232-2150/fax: 512-471-3540 [email protected] Education Ph.D., American Civilization, University of Texas at Austin, August, 1980 M.S.S.W., Social Work, University of Texas at Austin, August, 1990 M.A., American Civilization, University of Texas at Austin, May, 1975 B.A., History, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, May, 1971 Academic Experience 2010-11 Bicentennial Fulbright Chair in American Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 2002 Interim Chair of American Studies, University of Texas at Austin 1996-present, Associate Professor of American Studies and History, University of Texas at Austin 1991-96, Assistant Professor of American Studies and History, University of Texas at Austin 1987-1991, Visiting Assistant Professor/Lecturer of History, University of Texas at Austin 1985-87, Assistant Professor of American Studies, Temple University Japan, Shinjukuku, Tokyo Japan 1981-85, Visiting Assistant Professor of History and American Studies, University of Texas at San Antonio 1980-81, Guest Professor, Institute for English and American Literature, University of Wurzburg, Germany Honors, Awards, and Fellowships 2010-11 Fulbright Bicentennial Chair of American Studies, Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 1999 President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award Summer -Fall
    [Show full text]
  • Prohibition in the Taft Court Era
    William & Mary Law Review Volume 48 (2006-2007) Issue 1 Article 2 October 2006 Federalism, Positive Law, and the Emergence of the American Administrative State: Prohibition in the Taft Court Era Robert Post Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Repository Citation Robert Post, Federalism, Positive Law, and the Emergence of the American Administrative State: Prohibition in the Taft Court Era, 48 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 1 (2006), https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr/vol48/iss1/2 Copyright c 2006 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmlr William and Mary Law Review VOLUME 48 No.1, 2006 FEDERALISM, POSITIVE LAW, AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE AMERICAN ADMINISTRATIVE STATE: PROHIBITION IN THE TAFT COURT ERAt ROBERT POST* ABSTRACT This Article offers a detailed analysis of major Taft Court decisions involving prohibition, including Olmstead v. United States, Carroll v. United States, United States v. Lanza, Lambert v. Yellowley, and Tumey v. Ohio. Prohibition,and the Eighteenth Amendment by which it was constitutionally entrenched, was the result of a social movement that fused progressive beliefs in efficiency with conservative beliefs in individualresponsibility and self-control. During the 1920s the Supreme Court was a strictly "bone-dry" institution that regularly sustained the administrative and law enforcement techniques deployed by the federal government in its t This Article makes extensive use of primary source material, including the papers of members of the Taft Court. All unpublished sources cited herein are on file with the author.
    [Show full text]
  • Morris Sheppard
    Noah Griffin Prohibition represented perhaps the greatest legal success of moral reform in American history. Other monumental causes such as the Revolution, the Union, and Civil Rights depended on rhetorical trendsetters such as Patrick Henry, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King to sway the American people. Prohibition had its spokesman as well, Morris Sheppard, a senator from East Texas. From today’s perspective of Prohibition as a “failed experiment,” it is easy to forget that in order for that “experiment” to have ever been realized, Americans had to hold astonishing trust and regard for the cause. This trust was predominately brought about through the efforts of Morris Sheppard. When one considers the radical, “up- against-the-gradient” character of Prohibition, and its status as the one amendment that actually diminished liberty, we can begin to appreciate the feat that has been blotted out by the failure. Historians have largely missed 1 the fact that Sheppard was one of the great rhetorical geniuses of American history.1 As a rhetorical strategist, Sheppard achieved tremendous political power and leverage. In applying effective communication, he implemented two strategies. His first strategy was to arrest the attention of his audience. In a democracy, Sheppard believed that there was no such thing as a captive audience, and that crowds needed to be inspired in order to listen. He therefore made a conscientious point to always engage and entertain his prospective listeners. His second strategy was to moralize politics. This second tendency enhanced the first, because crowds were more likely to get excited, he believed, when major issues of right and wrong were at stake.
    [Show full text]
  • Philadelphia Museum Exhibit Explores the Rise and Fall of Prohibition
    Itineraries Tanya Mohn, NBC News contributor Philadelphia museum exhibit explores the rise and fall of Prohibition Courtesy Anheuser-Busch Archives One of the artifacts in the "American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition" exhibit is an Anheuser-Busch beer case from 1933 -- the year Prohibition ended. Fans who have not gotten their fill of flappers, bootleggers and roaring '20s glitz and glamour from recent TV shows and movies like HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and “Lawless” can delve a little deeper into the Prohibition era at a new exhibit at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. At "American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition," which opens on Friday, visitors can find out about real-life legends like Al Capone, learn to dance the Charleston at a recreated speakeasy, join gangsters in a mock criminal lineup for a photo opportunity and play the role of a federal agent tracking down rumrunners from the seat of a speedboat in a custom video game. The exhibit was about three years in the making, said Stephanie Reyer, vice president of exhibitions for the Center. “We knew this was a good story,” she said. “It captures the imagination of the American people,” covering everything from social change and popular culture, including music and clothing of the period, to important lessons in history about the temperance movement and how government works. The 18th Amendment, which imposed the federal prohibition of alcohol, “is essentially the only amendment ever passed that limited personal freedom,” aside from the 13th, which limited slave ownership, Reyer said. “And it’s the only amendment ever to be repealed.” Prohibition was the period from 1920 to 1933 when there was a federal law forbidding the making or selling of alcoholic beverages.
    [Show full text]
  • Prohibition, Riverside, and the Mission Inn Grade 11
    Prohibition, Riverside, and the Mission Inn Grade 11 Objectives: This lesson is intended to compliment and expand existing lessons about the Prohibition era. Specifically, students will learn about how the temperance movements and Prohibition played out in the City of Riverside, and at the Mission Inn, a National Historic Landmark. Students will be asked to reflect on primary materials from the Mission Inn Museum and other collections at the end of the lesson in order to develop an opinion about Mission Inn owner Frank A. Miller’s actions and stance on alcohol leading up to Prohibition. Two-Part Introduction for Teachers and Students: Part I: Foundations of the Temperance Movement and the Road to Prohibition Slide 1: The roots of America’s Temperance Movement can be traced back to the early 19th century. By the 1820s the average American consumed the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per year. Exactly how much is 7 gallons of pure alcohol? Let’s assume that only beer is being consumed, and that this beer has an alcohol content of 5%. The average drinker would have to consume 140 gallons of beer each year to reach this amount. That’s nearly 2.7 gallons a week! These numbers continued to rise throughout the 19th century – by 1890, the amount of alcohol consumed in America had increased a further 23 times. Slide 2: Why did Americans consume such a high quantity of alcohol, and why did numbers keep rising? One of the reasons was insufficient access to clean drinking water. Beer is brewed at high temperatures, which pasteurizes the drink and removes contaminants.
    [Show full text]
  • An Inquiry Into the Origin and Development of the Prohibition Movement in the United States
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1946 An Inquiry Into the Origin and Development of the Prohibition Movement in the United States M. Devota Higgins Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Higgins, M. Devota, "An Inquiry Into the Origin and Development of the Prohibition Movement in the United States" (1946). Master's Theses. 210. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/210 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1946 M. Devota Higgins 70 cq IJ? AN INQUL't.Y INTO THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROHIBITION MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES by Sister M. Devota Higgins, O.P. A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Loyola University February 1946 TABLE OF CONTENTS CIIAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION • • • • • • • • • • • • • • iii I REFORM BY REGULATION • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 Early use of liquor as beverage--Colonial attitude toward use --Excess--Regulation--Protest against abuse--Temperance Soci­ ety--Alignment with Churches--Views of foreign travellers --Failure to reform-~~y?--National awakening--Social reforms --Religious revival--New England Clergy--Temperance vs. Ab- stinence--Reorganization--Abstinence Prevails--Division of Churches--Persuasion vs. Foree--Washingtonian Movement--De­ mand for legislation--Neal Dow--Maine Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Guides; *Discuss
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 054 988 SO 001 273 TITLE United States History. Part 3. Grade 10. INSTITUTION Oklahoma City Public School System, Okla.a PUB DATE 70 NOTE 195p. EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$6.58 DESCRIPTORS Creative Dramatics; Creative Writing; Curriculum Guides; *Discussion (Teaching Technique); Grade 10; *Inquiry Training; Music Appreciation; *Problem Solving; *Role Playing; Secondary Grades; Social Action; Social Change; Social Problems; Social Studies Units; Teaching Guides; Time Perspective; *United States History IDENTIFIERS *Historical Methods ABSTRACT This third semester teaching guide for a United States history course for grades 9 and 10 begins with acontinuation of the issue of social change and stability covered inthe second semester, SO 001 272. The inquiry extends into thesocial movements of the twentieth century, beginning with the ProgressiveMovement. The overall objectives of the course are describedin the guides for both the first and second semesters, SO 001 271 and SO 001272. Specific questions or topics are included for class discussion, guest speakers, student reporting, role playing, demonstration,creative dramatics, creative writing, display making, and musicappreciation. The content of these 31 lessons, learning activities,texts, and other resources are outlined in detail.(SHE) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION rl-ns DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIG- INATING IT. POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN- IONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDU- CATION POSITION OR POLICY. 'I.JNITEir STATES part 3 grade 10 OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. .1910 U. S. HISTORY III Part IIT AN INQUIRY INTO UNITED STATES HISTORY In the second and third semesters of United States history, students inquire into issues and problems facing Americans today; they inquire into the ways history explains or influences the present.
    [Show full text]
  • The Story of Morris Sheppard
    The Story of Morris Sheppard (The screen is black and the following white letters appear in an impressive script: ONE-HUNDRED YEARS AGO, IN 1913, TEXAS SENATOR MORRIS SHEPPARD FROM TEXARKANA FIRST AGITATED FOR NATIONWIDE PROHIBITION. AT THAT MOMENT THERE HAD NEVER BEFORE BEEN A WESTERN NATION THAT HAD ENFORCED THE PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL. FOR THE UNITED STATES, THIS FEAT WAS ATTAINED FROM 1920 TO 1933 UNDER THE AEGIS OF THE 18TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION WHICH SHEPPARD WROTE AND INTRODUCED TO CONGRESS. THIS IS HIS STORY, THE FORGOTTEN DRAMA OF A MAN WHO BELIEVED HE COULD REMAKE THE UNITED STATES, AND WHO WAS PRAISED BY GEORGIA CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM UPSHAW (PAUSE), AS A “COMRADE OF THE IMMORTALS.” Scene 1: Bedroom, New Haven Connecticut 1898 Young Morris is alone, praying. (Music is heard: The once popular Northeast Texas Hymn, “I will Arise and Go to Jesus” sung by choir goes on through scene 1) (Morris Sheppard appears praying, with good Ingmar-Bergman-type closeups of his face, he is straining. Captions are given: 1898 is the year, and the place: New Haven Connecticut) (Captions appear for the prayer he is uttering. The sound track also carries his voice) O GOD, YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME TO YALE. GRANT ME COURAGE. HELP ME TO BRING YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS TO THIS EARTH! 1 Scene 2: Parlor, New Haven, 1898 Young Women and Men are appearing to have a good time. Cassandra (sarcastically): “How is it that our esteemed friend from Northeast Texas, has forsaken coffee, tea, tobacco, and now alcohol? Morris Sheppard [MS] (Speaks with a definite lilt trying to entertain the ladies in the room, particularly Wyoma, who stares at him)1: I remember what the alcohol demon can do! MS (searches around room for eye contact): When I was young at a town near where I was born—it was Mount Pleasant, Texas.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Relevance of Speakeasies: Prohibition, Flappers, Harlem, and Change Joseph Collins the College of Wooster, [email protected]
    The College of Wooster Libraries Open Works Senior Independent Study Theses 2012 Social Relevance of Speakeasies: Prohibition, Flappers, Harlem, and Change Joseph Collins The College of Wooster, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Collins, Joseph, "Social Relevance of Speakeasies: Prohibition, Flappers, Harlem, and Change" (2012). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 3820. https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/3820 This Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar is brought to you by Open Works, a service of The oC llege of Wooster Libraries. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Independent Study Theses by an authorized administrator of Open Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Copyright 2012 Joseph Collins The College of Wooster The Social Relevance of Speakeasies: Prohibition, Flappers, Harlem, and Change by Joseph Adam Collins Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Senior Independent Study Supervised by David Gedalecia Department of History Spring 2012 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Chapter One: The Fight For Prohibition 11 Chapter Two: The Danger, the Fun, and the Enormous 20 Amount of Speakeasies During Prohibition Chapter Three: The Harlem Renaissance, Rent Parties and Cabarets, 57 and the Rise in Popularity in Jazz Chapter Four: Flappers, Sex, Dating, and Speakeasies 89 Conclusion 118 Annotated Bibliography 122 2 INTRO THESIS STATEMENT Nine years into Prohibition, 1929, the mayor of Berlin, Germany, Gustav Boess, made an official visit to New York City. Boess stayed in New York City for a week, and did many things any tourist might do when visiting New York.
    [Show full text]