Kevin P. Dincher . Enshrine social policy in US Constitution Alcohol = major source of social ills...

Kevin P. Dincherwww.kevindincher.com

Enshrine social policy in US Constitution

Alcohol = major source of social ills Poverty, divorce, violence, gambling, prostitution,

other crime “Others” – “Undesirables”

Immigrants (Irish, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Catholics) Blacks

Purpose Fix what was wrong with America by fixing the

American people Change American’s attitude Control American’s behavior

Alcohol consumption decreased in the 20th Century 19th Century Americans consumed 3x as much

alcohol per capita as today But really caused by Prohibition?

Consequences Culture Crime and corruption Women

Prohibition and

Prohibition and

Family of Carl and Christina Behle, 1913

George Remus(1874 – 1952)

1874: Born in Germany

1879: Immigrated to Chicago

1888: Worked at a pharmacy

1893: Bought the pharmacy Bought 2nd pharmacy

1898: Illinois College of Law

1899: married Lillian Klauff 1900: Romola Remus

King of the Bootleggers

If there ever has been a bigger bootlegger than Remus, the fact remains a secret. Remus was to bootlegging what Rockefeller was to oil…”

St. Louis Post Dispatch

Romola Remus(1900 – 1987)

Wizard of Oz, 1908

1904: Admitted to Illinois Bar Famous criminal defense

attorney 1920: $50,000/year

$245,000/year in 2013 dollars

1918: Divorced Lillian Married Imogene Holms

Imogene Holms

George Remus Prohibition

Defending accused bootleggers

Arbitrariness of judge Impressed by corruption

1920: Relocated to Cincinnati

Cincinnati: 40,000 people Newport: 30,000 people 30,000 speakeasies

Cincinnati

80% of America’s “bonded liquor” stored in distillery warehouses within 300 mile radius

Government withdrawal permits to sell to drug companies for medicinal purposes

Remus: Bought up distilleries Created own drug company in Covington Created own trucking company Own men hijacked delivery trucks

Distribution center: 50 acre farm “Death Valley”

Cincinnati

80 % of America’s bonded liquor stored in distillery warehouses within 300 mile radius

Government withdrawal permits to sell to drug companies for medicinal purposes

Bought up distilleries; established own drug company in Covington; created own trucking company

Own men hijacked delivery trucks Distribution center: 50 acre farm “Death Valley” 3000 employees – 3 shifts/day $80,000/day

Glenn Fleshler as Remus in Boardwalk Empire

Death Valley Farm

Distribution center

50 acre farm

Government Bribes

1921: began meeting with Jesse Smith

Member of Warren G. Harding's “Ohio Gang”

Teapot Dome Scandal

Unofficial assistant to US Attorney General Harry Daugherty

$250,000 in bribes from Remus Withdrawal permits Protection from prosecution Ed Jewett as

Smith in Boardwak Empire

Government Bribes

1921: began meeting with Jesse Smith

Member of Warren G. Harding's “Ohio Gang”

Teapot Dome Scandal

Unofficial assistant to US Attorney General Harry Daugherty

$250,000 in bribes from Remus Withdrawal permits Protection from prosecution Christopher McDonald as

Daugherty in Boardwalk Empire

George Remus

Income: $6million a year New supply depot in Ohio 9 distilleries in Cincinnati Network from Buffalo, NY to Glendale,

CA

1922: New Year’s Party 100 couples All the men with diamond watches Each guest's wife a brand new car

June 1923: Similar party 100 couples Gave each female guest a new

Pontiac

1925: arrested for violation of the Volstead Act

Jury deliberated for 2 hours

Sentenced to 2 years in jail Franklin Dodge

1927: Imogene divorced Remus

George Remus, Romola Remus, and co-council Charles Elston

The jury deliberated only 19 minutes before acquitting him by reason of insanity

Prohibition and

18th and 19th centuries

“A Woman’s place is in the home.”

Women worked and socialized primarily in the home

Economic necessity Women’s patriotic role

American Boycott of British Goods (1769)

Could only succeed with women’s support and active participation

Recognize women as political

Women could be patriots and had a key role in the patriot cause

Domestic duties and responsibilities have political ramifications

Consumption behaviors had political implications, and women make political decisions whether they intend to or not

American Boycott of British Goods (1769)

Reinforced “Domestic sphere” of women “Public sphere” of men

Changed the nature of “women’s work” Politicized the “domestic sphere”

Republican Motherhood

Philosophy about the role of women in the emerging United States before and after the American Revolution

Women’s political role in the domestic sphere

Linda KerberDepartment of HistoryUniversity of Iowa

Linda K. Kerber

Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (1997)

No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of Citizenship (1999)

18th and 19th centuries“A woman’s place is in the home.”

A "new breed" of young Western women in the 1920s

• Flaunted their disdain for what was then considered conventional/acceptable behavior.

• Flappers = scandalousActress Louise Brooks (1927)

When someone violates the status quo, we get up in arms, but we also make the scandalous act speakable.

Six Women of a Dangerous Generation

Judith Mackrell

The women who defined this age would presage the sexual revolution by nearly half a century and would shape the role of women for generations to come.

Josephine Baker

1906-1975

American-born French dancer, singer, actress

Tallulah Bankhead

1902-1968

Actress and political activist.

Diana Cooper

1892-1986

British actress and socialite

.

Nancy Cunard

1896 -1965

British write, heiress and political activist.

Zelda Fitzgerald

1900 – 1948

American novelist, short story write, poet and dancer

Icon of the 1920’s: “The First American Flapper”

Tamara de Lempicka

1898 – 1980

Polish Art Deco painter

First woman artist to be glamour star .

Suffragettes thought Flappers were vapid and silly Disengaged from politics

Overturning Victorian roles Result of social change Promoted further social

change

Fashion Clothing Lingerie Hair Make-up Jewelry

Language Slang Swearing

“Vices” Drank Smoked Causal sex

Petting parties Drove automobiles Rode bicycles Listened to jazz Got jobs

Actress Louise Brooks (1927)

1631: flap = prostitute

1890s: popular slang in England •very young prostitute•any lively mid-teenage girl

1907: theatrical slang for acrobatic young female stage performers

1908: The London Times•“a young lady who has not yet been promoted to long frocks and the wearing of her hair 'up'“

1912: a girl who has "just come out.” (debutant)

Violet Romer, born in 1886 in San Francisco, California, was an American actress, dancer and flapper

1920: “Flapper” had taken on the full meaning of the flapper generation style and attitudes.

"the social butterfly type… the frivolous, scantily-clad, jazzing flapper, irresponsible and undisciplined, to whom a dance, a new hat, or a man with a car were of more importance than the fate of nations".Actresses such as Joan Crawford

built their careers on the flapper image

Vices: scandalous dances Charleston The Shimmy The Bunny Hug The Black Bottom

Joan Crawford

Clara Bow

Blondie Boopadoop: a carefree flapper girl who spent her days in dance halls

1920S

MoviesActressesMovies about Flappers

TabloidsSensational crimeCelebrity gossip

One Summer: America, 1927Bill Bryson

1930S

Prohibition and

Alcohol

1607: Jamestown, Virginia

1620: Pilgrims. Plymouth Colony

1630: Puritans, Massachusetts Bay Colony

1648: Pilgrims + Puritans = Congregationalist

Alcohol Use in Colonial Times

Provided warmthImproved one’s outlookEnlivened social events

Weddings Christenings Election-day gatherings Funerals

Colonial Americans

Believed that alcohol was beneficial Alternative to suspect water Alcohol cured sickness, aided digestion and

strengthened the weak. Whiskey was taken for colic and laryngitis. Hot brandy punch addressed cholera. Rum-soaked cherries helped with a cold. Pregnant women and women in labor were

given a shot of whiskey to ease their pain.

Colonial Americans

Started the day with a pick-me-up

Enjoyed a midmorning whistle wetter

Libations at luncheon, in the afternoon, and at supper, imbibed either at home or at a local tavern.

Drinking was everywhere:

At home, work, school In the fields In shops At sea and in military

camps.

1639: Harvard President Nathaniel Easton was fired when the school didn’t supply enough beer to students

Tavern Culture Informal socializing Social, sporting, cultural organizations Business Politics

Prohibitions Sabbath Election days

Cultural Mores Men only

Drunkenness versus Moderation

Pilgrims/Puritans/Congregationalists: Attacked drunkenness Alcohol as a necessary part of life

1622 – Virginia Company of London Complained to Governor Francis Wyatt at

Jamestown that drinking hurt the colony.

James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia No rum, no slaves, no lawyers and no Catholics  

Drunkenness versus Moderation

Benjamin Franklin called for moderation

"nothing is more like a fool than a drunken man”

200 different names for being drunk

Addled Afflicted Biggy Boozy Busky Buzzey Cherubimical Cracked Halfway to Concord, Bowz'd,

Cherry merry Fetter'd Lappy Mountous See a flock of moons Be right before the

wind with all you studding sails out

Thump over the Head with Sampson's Jawbone

Great Awakenings in the United States

Periods of Intense Religious Revival 1st: 1730 – 17552nd: 1790 – 18403rd: 1850 – 19004th: 1960 – 1980

Significantly impacted the development of religion in the US

Politics and social reform movements

The Great AwakeningsPersonalized Spirituality

Personal revelation and introspection

Emotional – ecstatic religious experiences

Personal authority/independence

Personal morality

Evangelical Emphasis on the Bible “Return to Fundamentals” Calvinist

Revival Meetings

Millennialism (2nd, 3rd and 4th) Personal Repentance Social Reform

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The First Great Awakening (1730 – 1755)

George Whitfield (1714 – 1770) Methodism Evangelical Movement Open-air Revival Meetings

Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) 1732: Public Lecture: God Glorified in Man’s Dependence 1741: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God The End for which God Created the World

Gilbert Tennent (1703 – 1764) Presbyterianism: New Lights

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The First Great Awakening: Alcohol?

Not a prohibition/temperance movement

2nd Great Awakening

Personal reform Moderation and

temperance

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The Western Frontier – and the Cities

French and Indian War (1754–1763) Seven Years War Proclamation Line of

1763 Appalachian Mountains

Post-Revolution Expansion

The Whiskey Rebellion 1791: tax protest Western

Pennsylvania