How useful is Source A for studying the spread of prohibition in the United States? Explain your answer using Source A and your own knowledge.
COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT A: PROHIBITION
BY SHOAIB KHAN 5 AMR
How useful is Source A for studying the spread of prohibition in the United States? Explain your answer using Source A and your own knowledge.
Source A is a map of the United States showing the states and when prohibition was ratified there. It is taken from a secondary source, An American History Atlas, thus we can assume that it is an unbiased source, which was published in 1968 after thorough research, using the interpretations of several sources.
The key used in the source is precise and distinctive, thus allowing the reader to clearly interpret the information portrayed by the graph. Differentiating between states is made easier by the use of distinct borderlines and coherent labelling. Hence the map is useful as it is precise and clear therefore allowing the reader to interpret the data easily and with precision.
However, the map has several factors, which make it less useful to study the spread of prohibition in the USA. Firstly, the western side of America is not shown, depriving us of information from major populated states such as California and Texas. Hence without consulting another source we are unable to ascertain information about prohibition from a large proportion of the USA. Secondly, the names of the states in which prohibition had not been ratified are not written thus it is not possible to deduce the names of the states where it was less popular without referring to another source. Within the unnamed states there are Florida, South Carolina and many more. These states are very important, in particular California as it is the most populous state and is known for being highly multicultural. The map also presents a limited time scale thus we cannot see whether there was any extreme fluctuation in the popularity of prohibition during events in the history of America. We are also unable to see a trend in the spread of prohibition and conclude whether it was gradual or rapid.
In conclusion the map is clear and distinctive in its geography. It is easy to interpret but provides limited information to study prohibition in the whole of the United States.
Study sources B and C. Historians wrote both, yet they give differing interpretations as to why prohibition was introduced in 1919.
Why do these historians come to disagree about this issue?
Explain your answer using Sources B and C and your own knowledge.
Sources B and C are secondary sources, which are taken from books thus we can establish that they are unbiased sources, which have been thoroughly researched. Source B is an extract from a textbook, which states that supporters of prohibition argued that Germans were profiting by their consumption of alcohol. They argued that it was morally wrong to support Germany, as all profits are likely to go towards funding the war. Source C is an extract from a book, which claims that pro-prohibitionists gained support by using the church to inform people that alcohol would result in drunken blacks and the lack of God's protection over America.
It is fair to say the reasons stressed in the two sources vary, however they do not disagree. Both reasons are valid and may have been used to promote prohibition before it was ratified.
During the First World War there was a strong anti-German feeling because of their attack on the vessel Lusitania, which was one of the events that led to the American military participating in the war. Many families had lost sons, brothers and fathers during the war and any alliance with Germany was disliked. Through this many people had developed had developed a hatred towards the Germans but many American brewers were German immigrants thus when the pro-prohibition lobbies argued that the Germans benefited through the purchase of alcohol and drinkers were traitors to their nation it can be assumed that these people would have considered giving up. The book Success in the Twentieth Century World Affairs was written for use in British schools. It is aimed at "world-affairs" therefore it is likely to focus upon more global factors as opposed to smaller cultural ones.
During the First World War many people had turned towards the church and other religious entities for reassurance, the safe return of fellow Americans and peace. Their dislike for Germans was also mirrored by their prejudice towards the black community and therefore when the church linked alcohol to drunkard blacks and the loss of God's protection over them and their country many people were inclined to turn pro-prohibition. In the period between 1920 and 1925 over five million people joined the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was a national secret movement and committed itself to many ...
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During the First World War many people had turned towards the church and other religious entities for reassurance, the safe return of fellow Americans and peace. Their dislike for Germans was also mirrored by their prejudice towards the black community and therefore when the church linked alcohol to drunkard blacks and the loss of God's protection over them and their country many people were inclined to turn pro-prohibition. In the period between 1920 and 1925 over five million people joined the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was a national secret movement and committed itself to many atrocities against the blacks of America. Thus it is no coincidence that religion and racial issues are used to promote prohibition. The extract used in source C is from the book The Culture of the USA in the 1920s and therefore it is likely to revolve around ideas such as religion and people's prejudicial and discriminative feelings.
In conclusion the extracts do not disagree but instead give a varying opinion. They are both one of various valid reasons for the ratification of prohibition and are specifically chosen extracts from books. The focal point of both books is different as one is intended to inform about world affairs and the other about American culture.
How useful are sources D and E for learning about events during prohibition?
Explain using sources D and E and your own knowledge.
Source D and E are sources from the prohibition era. Therefore there is likelihood that they may contain an element of bias. The bias may stem from the fact that the producer needs to express an opinion in a short space of time thus not allowing time for thorough research and hence may allow emotions to sway possible judgement.
Source D is the front page of a newspaper published by the Anti-Saloon-League, which was a major association lobbying for prohibition to be ratified. The newspaper is inevitably biased in favour of prohibition and is the fourth issue from the twenty-sixth volume implying that it has had numerous publications. The newspaper in question is the issue immediately following the national ratification of the prohibition of alcohol in the United States, which had been their aim during several years of campaigning. The source is useful, as it portrays the wealth and extensive support for prohibition. The American issue portrays the day as "momentous in the world's history". From this we may arrive at the conclusion that they may have intended to spread the concept of prohibition around the world. Due to the bias feelings towards prohibition the newspaper continues to expand on the issues of popularity and immediate spread of prohibition.
Uncle Sam is shown riding his "new mount" of a camel rather than his normal stallion in order to emphasise dryness. If we ignore the newspapers biasness we get the impression that there was vast support for prohibition.
The photograph in source D supposedly portrays a working-class man kneeling close to a sign on the pavement, the sign gives directions to a speak easy, which was the replacement for the saloons. The photograph is limited, as it shows a split second from many years. However, it gives the image that the law was openly broken and the loss of alcohol was not felt because the supply of alcohol continued. In order to extract all the available information from the source it may be necessary to consider other factors. Common knowledge suggests that after prohibition was ratified many bootleggers began to import and sell alcohol and they were able to bribe an authority attempting to enforce prohibition. The New York mayor, James Walker and the chief of policing Edward Rankling had been bribed by bootleggers as this profitable business allowed them to meet any sum of money demanded by law enforcers. The most powerful of the bootleggers were Al Capone and his gang. Capone was earning over $60 million a year and had a private army of 700 men. As well as supplying alcohol, they charged businesses money for protection. The competition between bootleggers was very violent and volatile and Capone is said to have had 227 rival gangsters slaughtered. . Other sources suggest that the law was openly broken to an extent that during the year 1925 Americans drank 200 million gallons of spirits, 685 million gallons of malt liquor and 118 million gallons of wine. There were 200,000 speakeasies; New York alone had 32,000 compared with 15,000 saloons before prohibition.
The photograph shows how the authorities were unable to enforce prohibition thus the law was openly broken. The speakeasy had soon replaced the saloon and people did not feel the effects of dryness.
Source f gives very precise information. Does this mean it must be reliable as evidence about the way in which prohibition laws were enforced in the 1920s?
Explain your answer using Source F and your own knowledge.
Source F is an extract from a book on the history of the United States and is written by Hugh Brogan, a historian. Therefore it can be construed that a thoroughly researched, factual and unbiased passage has been presented. The source is extremely precise in the figures that it presents therefore they are useful in getting an exact interpretation of events. The numbers are very precise therefore we can infer they are reliable and are likely to have been the subject of thorough research.
However, the source has limited area coverage, only covering New York. New York is the most populated American city therefore the numbers may be larger than anywhere else. The number of "people arrested for breaking the laws about drink" is given but when they were arrested or how they broke the law is not. Prohibition lasted for thirteen years but we only have information for the number of people "arrested in raids at illegal drinking bars in 1926 and 1927". The numbers of people whose cases were dropped and those who were tried are given however, reasons for them being dropped or the consequences faced after trial are not given. From other sources we know that this is true as many people were not prosecuted for violating prohibition laws and the law was openly broken.
In conclusion the source is very precise and the numbers seem reliable but it is not very useful. As it appears the prohibition law was openly broken and very few people were tried in conjunction with breaking it.
Prohibition caused huge arguments in the 1920's and massive corruption. Yet today it seems less important than the growth of the United States economy in the 1920's.
How important was Prohibition for the United States during the 1920's?
Explain your answer using Source F and your own knowledge.
Two major factors in the history of the USA were prohibition and the boom. America was the first major industrial nation to prohibit alcohol. In my opinion prohibition was more important for people at the time of ratification but the boom is more important for people today.
Prohibition is important because it affected every person in America between 1919 and 1933. Whether rich or poor, black or white, living in New York or San
Francisco prohibition affected them. Prohibition was fought for since the 1800's. Source A shows how favourable prohibition was, as many states had adopted it before 1919, some as early as 1845. Prohibition had been an attempt to reduce financial support for Germany during World War I. Prohibition was intended by some people to stop a major financial support received by the country through alcohol (Source B). Prohibition was a movement whereby numerous numbers of people combined and fought for a movement. They set-up a newspaper, which was distributed nationally thus there was huge financial and personal support for the movement. The authorities fighting for the movement immerged from no-where and set-up a national movement. Thousands of women gathered at churches and proceeded to saloons to urge saloonkeepers to give up their business and aid in their aim to ratify prohibition. By 1916,23 of the 48 American states had ratified prohibition and the campaigns of the Anti-Saloon League and Women's Club had reached success to such an extent that in 1916 over double the congress voted for prohibition. This shows the unity adopted by the American public in order to have prohibition ratified. On December 22, 1917, the two-third majority required was reached and the American Congress submitted to the states the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." On January 16 1919 ratification was complete and from this point alcohol prohibition was in operation. The endurance of the ASL and the extent to which they fought shows the importance of prohibition in the period 1919-1933.
Prohibition was a factor, which majorities wanted but not everyone therefore it is not important for everyone. It can be said that prohibition was forced through congress using tactics that involved certain sources with influences over the public, such as the church. (Source C). Prohibition was a part of American history, which is not the most unsurpassed. Prohibition led into an era in which more and more Americans found the idea of repeal increasingly attractive; there were numerous reasons for this, which included the government's failure to enforce the law. This led to many criminal gangs setting up to import alcohol to the Speakeasies, which were common (Source E). These criminal gangs were able to profit from bootlegging to such an extent that they could bribe any official who attempted to tackle them. Al Capone the main bootleggers and he had 227 of his rival gangsters killed. The authorities failed to enforce the laws of prohibition and the very few people who were arrested were not tried (Source B). People developed racist feelings towards the black community and consequently combined with the high crime rate attacks against the black community increased. The Ku Klux Klan was also set-up during this period whereby many immigrants were flocking into America. These were further increased by the use of blacks to promote prohibition (Source C). Prohibition was a failure as no official authority was able to enforce it. Prohibition had lasted for a period of thirteen years until 1933 and everybody was able to drink freely again. People in America drink alcohol today and have no reason to refer to the prohibition era.
In comparison to the boom, prohibition was more important in the 1920's but is less important now. In the 1920's prohibition meant that everyone who bought, sold, transported or in anyway fouled the prohibition act would be breaking the law. The boom however, affected many people but not everyone. The black community, the coal miners and many other trades were unable to take advantage of the new wages and thus the new lavish lifestyles.
Today, prohibition has ended, the anti-saloon league is rarely mentioned and people drink, transport, buy and sell alcohol freely but people have electricity and other advanced goods introduced by the boom. Widespread electricity supply and general prosperity led to the growth in the demand for many goods - radios, vacuum cleaners, telephones and other household gadgets. This led to the growth in the electrical engineering industry. Today many people use vacuum cleaners, washing machines on a regular basis and would not have been able to do so without the boom era. Entertainment became a major industry in prosperous America. The film industry grew rapidly and many cinemas were built. In 1930, 100 million people were visiting the cinemas weekly. They had developed a taste in films and had watched enough films to decide on favourite characters etc. America's booming film industry is amongst the leading film producers in the world until present day. Jazz became one of the most listened to forms of music with performers like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman etc. and is still enjoyed by many people today. The aeroplane was developed into a common means of transport during this period. America's sport was at its peak during the 1920's, which is now referred to as sport's "golden age". The car industry grew was established and spread during the boom. There were three major car producers in America. They were Ford Chrysler and General Motors. In 1913 Henry Ford introduced mass production and as a result the number of cars rose from 9 million in 1920 to 30 million by 1930 therefore making America well known for its high numbers of cars. This in turn led to a drop in the cost of the car, which fell from $1200 in 1909 to $295 in 1929. Today the streets of America are packed with cars. Money on loan was introduced during the boom (HP) and today people purchase housing cars etc. all by loans. Many people purchased land and buildings and this resulted in "The Florida Land Boom".
Company
3rd March 1928
(Cents)
3rd
Sept
929
(Cents)
Company
3rd March 1928
(Cents)
3rd
Sept
929
(Cents)
American Can
77
82
New York Central
60
256
Anaconda Copper
54
62
Radio
94
505
Electric Bond and Share
90
204
United States Steel
38
279
General Electric
29
396
Westinghouse E&M
92
313
General Motors
40
82
Woolworth
81
251
People began to deal in the stock market, buying and selling shares and today Wall Street is known throughout the world for its financial trade. Other than large financial institution and business minded people the general public traded in the stock market, as it was seen as having great potential of profit. So much so, stockbrokers were prepared to take a 10% deposit on all shares purchased thus someone with $10 could buy shares for $100. By 1929 over a million people owned shares, which had now become a "national hobby". The table shows how the boom was causing vast increase in business value and consequently share prices. The erecting of high-rise building blocks began during the boom and was mainly due to the Stock exchange on Wall Street. Today these buildings remain with us and America has certain buildings that are amongst the tallest structures in the world.
To conclude both factors are of importance in the history of America. However, prohibition was important at the time of its ratification and the boom is important today.
