 Ch 10 sec 1

 Women received the right to vote and political life did not drastically change as some had hoped. Women tended to vote the same way as the men in their lives voted.  During the 1920’s women gained more of a variety of jobs and opportunities, even though they were still on the lower end of the payscale.

 Family life also changed for women and men. The traditional jobs in the home were changing because women were joining the workforce.  Flappers became the symbol of the changes for women. Their dress and behavior was a rejection of the restrictions on women before the 1920’s.

 Not all women became flappers, or even supported their decisions. Many felt flappers were not supporting women’s rights, just having fun.

 The 1920 census showed that for the first time in U.S. history, more people lived in cities than in the country.  Education increased, wages increased, cars allowed people to travel farther for business and leisure, and less children worked because laws required them to go to school.

 Urban and rural communities did not share the same values, and this led to people from rural communities to join the KKK to fight against the influence of cities.  People also turned to religion in the uncertainty of the times. Billy Sunday and Aimee Semple McPherson were very popular evangelists.

 Society began to push against religion, and the big showdown came in a trial of a science teacher charged with teaching evolution.  The teacher, John Scopes, was asked by a group that opposed a Tennessee law that outlawed teaching evolution. The case went to court and he lost and was fined $100. An appeals judge overturned the conviction on a technicality.

 For decades movements in the U.S. have tried to outlaw the production and consumption of alcohol. Many of society’s problems were attributed to the use of alcohol.  Use of alcohol by immigrants also drove people to outlaw alcohol as a way to fight against immigration, and the religious movement pushed for prohibition.

 States began to outlaw alcohol use, and in 1917 Congress proposed an amendment to outlaw the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol. It was ratified in 1919, and Congress passed the Volstead Act to enforce it.  People thought that Prohibition would be beneficial to society, however all that happened was an increase in illegal activity.

 Alcohol was smuggled in from Canada, and people brewed their own alcohol to sell and consume. People drank alcohol that was intended for medicinal purposes.  Organized crime became very wealthy and powerful through the illegal alcohol trade. Al Capone and others created large empires that defied government efforts to shut them down.

 Should the government be allowed to regulate what you eat or drink? Explain your answer. Half-page answer.