Divided Society Flashcards
When did prohibition become law?
1920
When was prohibition (the Volstead Act) law? (How long did prohibition last?)
Prohibition lasted from 1920 - 1933
How did prohibition change the levels of alcohol consumed in the early 1920s?
Levels of alcohol consumption fell about 30% in the early 1920s
Why was prohibition introduced? (3)
Temperance Movement
Rising crime rate linked to alcohol
Children’s purity + innocence said to be at risk
Effects of prohibition (4)
Corruption
Gangsterism
Made criminals out of ordinary people as the liquor trade simply ‘went underground’
Poor quality moonshine sometimes killed people
Name one poor quality moonshine + it’s effect
‘Jackass brandy’ caused internal bleeding
What fraction of prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption?
1 in 12 prohibition agents dismissed for corruption
Why was prohibition impossible to enforce? (5)
Briberies frequently used (of agents + of judges, senior officers
Gangsters operated all over country
Not enough agents
- Agents responsible for very large areas
Each agent was poorly paid
How many prohibition agents were there?
4000
How many gangland murders were there between 1927 - 1930
500+
Name two infamous gang leaders
Al Capone
Bugs Moran
Bootlegger
Someone who supplies people + speakeasies with illegal alcohol
Where did the illegal alcohol usually come from + why?
2/3 of alcohol came from Canada
The vast border was difficult to patrol
Stills
Illegal distilleries producing moonshine (illegal alcohol)
Speakeasy
Illegal bar selling alcohol
Amount of speakeasies in the 1920s compared legal bars in previous decade
More speakeasies in the 1920s than there were legal bars before the decade
How much did Al Capone make a year from his speakeasies?
Made around $60 million a year from his speakeasies
St Valentine’s Day Massacre (4 - what, when, who, how)
Infamous gang murder
14 February 1929
Al Capone’s men murdered 7 of rival Bug Moran’s gang
Used a false police car + 2 gangsters in uniform to put Moran’s men off guard
When did prohibition end?
1933
Why did prohibition end? (4)
Lead to too many deaths
Hadn’t lead to decrease in crime but crime actually increased
Government income (from alcohol taxes) had decreased by $11 billion
Rising unemployment in late 1920s - alcohol trade could create jobs
Between 1850 - 1919, amount a people from Europe that came to America?
Between 1850 - 1919, about 10% of population of Europe (some 40 million) left for a new life in America
First Americans (3) (who, who took their land, where did they live after)
(Native Americans)
White European settlers gradually took their land
- forced to live in reservation areas
Old Immigrants (3)
White settlers who arrived in America from Europe in 1600s
Then gained independence from British empire
By 1900s, = most powerful + richest group in society
Black Americans (3)
The slaves brought to America between 1600 - 1800
Slavery then abolished 1865 + slaves set free
Faced segregation + prejudice
New Immigrants (4)
The wave of people that flooded into America from 1850 onwards
Mainly from Eastern Europe
Irish people that had left after the major famines
Growing number of Chinese + Japanese
Why did Immigrants come to the US? (6)
Escaping poverty Escaping political persecution Hope of owning land (plentiful supply) Jobs with higher wages Adventure Hope of equality + opportunity
3 Immigration laws passed by US Congress
Literacy Test, 1917
Emergency Quota Act, 1921
National Origins Act, 1924
Literacy Tests (3) (when, what, who usually failed)
Introduced 1917
Immigrants had to pass series of reading + writing tests before they could enter
Poorer, less educated immigrants failed so were refused entry
Emergency Quota Act (3) (when, number, countries that it favoured)
Introduced 1921
Restricted to 357000 immigrants per year
Quota system favoured Immigration from Britain + Western Europe
National Origins Act (3) (when, number, continent)
Introduced 1924
Reduced immigration to 150000 per year
Prohibited immigration from Asia
Lifestyle of immigrants (2) (area, jobs)
Poor, overcrowded areas in cities
Low paid menial jobs
Life for African Americans living in south (4)
Segregation as a result of Jim Crow laws
Denied access to higher education, good jobs + right to vote
Forced to work low-paid, unskilled jobs
Prejudice + discrimination
Life for African Americans living in north (6)
Jim Crow laws didn’t exist in north - still faced discrimination Given most menial jobs Lived in squalid ghettos Better chance of getting a good job + education than in south - many moved north
KKK (5) (when, aim, actionsx3)
Established 1865, revived 1915 Wanted to preserve white supremacy Terrorised minority groups Violence used to intimidate Lynching
How many people were lynched by the KKK in the 1920s?
400 black Americans
By 1923, how many members did the KKK have?
5 million members by 1923
How did the film ‘The Birth of a Nation’ impact the KKK? (3) (when, how, who showed it)
Release of film in 1915
Glorified the klan as defenders of decent American values against evil
President Wilson showed it in the White House
Why were KKK members rarely punished? (3)
Many held positions of authority
- e.g. judges so KKK members not found guilty in courts
Politicians didn’t take action - scared of losing votes
Red Scare (4) (what, why, who under threat)
Period when there was an extreme fear of communism
- Americans frightened by Russian Communist Revolution 1917
- some believed the same thing would happen in USA
- Immigrants under suspicion
Events that heightened the Red Scare (4) (1919 + 1920)
Industrial unrest in 1919 - immigrants blamed for strikes
Discovery of 36 mail bombs in April 1919
– A bomb destroying the front of the house of the Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer
– A bomb exploding on Wall Street in September 1920, killing 38 people
Sacco and Vanzetti case (6)
Italian Immigrants, anarchists
Accused of 2 murders during armed robbery at a shoe factory
Both arrested 1920 with guns in their car
Tried in court at height of Red Scare in 1921
They were convicted on weak evidence by a prejudiced judge
Both executed 1927 even though a man had come forward + said it was him
When were Sacco and Vanzetti executed?
August 1927
When was Sacco and Vanzetti‘s court case?
May 1921
