Contents:
Page 4: Letter to the Editor Page 5: Editorial on Harlem Renaissance Page 6: News Article on Scopes Trial Page 7: News Article on Labor Unions Page 8-‐9: Interview with Charles Lindbergh Page 12: Editorial on Prohibition Page 13: Feature Story on Sports Page 14: Editorial on Women’s Rights Page 16: Political Cartoons Page 17: News Article on Sacco-‐Vanzetti Trial
Letter to the Editor: Bob Smith 435 Cotton Tree Lane Chester, Pennsylvania Hello. My name is Bob and I live in Chester, Pennsylvania. This whole decade has been full of hate towards those of color and I do not appreciate it! Even this magazine has been full of racial hate and I find it very offensive and wish that it would stop. Why are we as a nation still bringing hate upon others that we as a nation set free many years ago? For example, in an article posted around May 30 in 1921, you criticized how police did not do enough to help drive out the “Negros” of a southern Georgia community. And throughout the years even up as recently as an August edition of this magazine from this very year, you have done nothing, but to help entice and fuel the spread of hate against those of color in this nation!
I only ask that you don’t think about the person who will purchase this magazine, but the lives and futures you are changing and have changed with the constant hate. I for one will have no more of this in this new decade. For I believe in an nation where all are treated equal and if you do not believe this as well, believe me I will bring the hate to you and this company. -‐Bob Smith
Creative Expression in Harlem By Christina Mylar
In driving down the streets of Harlem, or turning on your radio for your favorite show, you often hear the soft voice, or many voices, floating to you, soothing your soul and giving your heart a lift. In recent times, it seems the once downtrodden streets of Harlem, New York have been transformed in the form of the arts. Poets, writers, composers, and musicians have made their way to center stage not only in local cafes, but across the country. Some of the biggest faces at the front of this movement include Duke Ellington, a composer and musician, and Zora Neale Hurston, a writer. Artists such as these have inspired the large population of Negros in the area together in expressive ambitions. Pride in African American Heritage can be seen in most new works, whether it be poems, songs, or short stories. I am pleasantly surprised to see the white American public supporting this movement, as it gains stronger and stronger momentum. I congratulate the artists of Harlem, and wish them all best of luck in their expressive endeavors! Negro artists Palmer Anderson’s take on the new musical type of Jazz that was introduced by Negros
The Year Man was against God By: John Blizzard This decade brought upon many opinions and theories supporting the belief of Evolution that was first brought about with the publication of Charles Darwin’s 1859 book, “On the Origin of Species”. It was in 1925 that the Scopes Trail captivated the nation on this very issue. It has been found that a high school science teacher by the name of John Scopes, had been teaching evolution in the state of Tennessee, which had only been recently been outlawed by the state. Scopes was put on trial in the town of Dayton, Tennessee, with attorney Clarence Darrow, at his side. On the other side it was former Secretary of State and three-‐time Democratic presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. Scopes had been brought to court with the unlawful teaching of Evolution even though the Butler Act clear stated that such theories could not be taught in school. The Trail lasted between May 5, 1925 and July 21, 1925 with a bitter fight between the science side of the argument with Darrow and the religious side of the argument with Bryan. Often referred to as the Monkey Trail, as being seen as science against religion, Darrow questioned Bryan about the “miracles in the bible” and caught Bryan in contradictions. While many agreed with Bryan’s priority of faith over facts, they found his sputtering in the trail rather disappointing. While the court did find
John Scopes guilty of the charge, the winner of the trial was very much indeed Clarence Darrow.
Above: Clarence Darrow (left) and William Jennings Bryan (right) at the height of the Scopes Trial in June 1925.
Taken’ on the Man By: Danica Calvert
What do 4 million people, over paid businessmen, and under paid workers equal? Strikes…lots of them. Over the past decade there’s been over 3,600 strikes protesting wage cuts and overtime work with no pay. These labor union strikes often resulted in huge opposing pressures from the companies. Law officials are left with no choice but to get involved at times, leaving the strike a messy and violent place to be. The labor unions began to see that these strikes only got them so far. All though they did make positive changes they also brought about negative results. Labor unions have made big statements in the past years. Changing work laws, helping pave the way to a much more just way of business. But being part of a labor union only brought financial insecurity and later made offal’s question union members views. Over the decade labor union numbers dramatically decreased, workers saw the effects and chose low-‐income jobs over the realities of a union. Article on union strike
It’s true that labor union numbers dwindled over the decade, but it was certainly not before placing a spotlight over the flaws of the work field. The true issue behind strikes in the first place, lack of proper treatment form employers’. Employs working long over time hours with no extra pay or recognition of any kind, payment that was pitiful even to the lowest standards. Speaking to some of the men involved in a Labor union and a few strikes brought much light to the true emotions behind the picket sign. “I feel devalued and un-‐appreciated when the big cheese refuses my requests for overtime pay. I build up the gumption to mossy up to his big office, where he sits all day with his dogs on the desk and a ciggy in each hand. I can’t even finish my sentence before that greedy old jack man tells me to shut my kisser and dry up.” Said a man who has been part of 4 strikes 2 of which ended with law officials, all from the treatment of his boss. Union members, complaints, fights, and arguments stir up the strikes. As passion for change grows within the group the animosity of the companies grow all the same. The refusal to work, the public humiliation of the company owners, and the halt in production are all just part of the aftermath of a strike. The labor unions make up a rich part of the decade but if I could have predicted this in 1918, I would have advised better pay from the start.
Above the Clouds Interview By: John Blizzard The following interview was conducted on April 13, 1928. With the final questions being asked at the end of this year to coincide with the closing of the decade. John: The 1920’s have been seen as a decade of prosperity and new beginnings. No one would have thought of airplanes as means of travel, but yet, you, one single man, have changed the entire vision of not only the nation, but also the world. How does it feel knowing that you alone have changed the minds and opened the eyes of millions? Charles: Well, I don’t like to think that I alone changed the way the world views air travel, but more I was the final stepping stone in the process of getting there. John: I’m curious. What initially began your drive to fly? Charles: Well, I had always been amazed by mechanics in general even as a small child. Once I was in college I focused on mechanical engineering and became quite amazed by airplanes. I actually quit college and enrolled at the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation’s flying school. John: After the flying school, when did you first fly and what was the feeling of viewing the Earth as few have done before?
Charles: Well it was actually a year after I finished flight school. I believe it was May 1923 in Georgia and it was like anything I have ever experienced. Sure, I had been in planes, but never had I flown a plane alone. John: The world is still wondering what exactly the flight was like across the Atlantic and how you felt knowing that six others had already died in attempts to cross the ocean. Charles: I’ll tell you one thing; it was single handedly the scariest, but yet most thrilling event in my life. I had heard that a few men had died, but I simple shook it off and continued with my eye on the prize. The flight its self was very long and treacherous. Thirty-‐three hours in the air all alone and not only that, but I was fighting icing, fog, and storms. I also had no idea how close I was to never actually taking off. I heard after I landed in Paris, that I only missed the telephone phones by nearly 20 feet. That was quite the astonishment for me. John: Now, that it has been a little over 11 months and gaining closer to a year after the famed flight across the Atlantic, how do you feel that the world has changed for you? Do you feel in the coming decade air travel will replace other modes of travel? Charles: It’s been one heck of a year, for me the world has changed significantly. I am known worldwide
and seen as hero for millions around the world. I don’t know really what to think of it because it is all still sinking in. I do believe though that air travel will become more common in the coming decade, do I believe it will replace all modes of travel? No. However, I do believe that in time, air travel will advance to things that we ourselves can never imagine.
Charles Lindbergh and his plane, “Spirit of St. Louis”, 10 days after the solo Atlantic crossing.
Editorial: The Prohibition Movement BY: ALEXANDER KIM
The negative effects of alcohol are becoming more and more evident in the
Finally, the people had enough; they
citizens of America. This is more
stood up, and the protests against
apparent in men, as it has harmful
alcohol began. Enough support had
effects on their family, their jobs, and
gathered and the collective forces of all
their well-being.
the women and supporters finally pushed for the result they toiled so actively for:
Not just women, but societies pushing as
The
Eighteenth
Amendment.
new Temperance movements blamed alcohol and alcohol consumptions for
Ratified on January 16th 1919 and taken
many of the wrongdoings during the
into e7ffect on January 16th 1920, the
time: Crime, rape, and murder were
Eighteenth Amendment banned the
abundant, wherever alcohol was present.
production,
Saloons, a social haven for men after a
transportation of alcoholic beverages,
long day at work, were copious in the
which ushered in the age of Prohibition.
West. The new Temperance movement
Despite the efforts of all the women and
saw these saloons as places of evil, and
men, the eighteenth amendment was not
debauchery.
in fact, flawless. Loopholes were found.
distribution,
and
the
The eighteenth amendment did prohibit the sales, production, and movement of alcohol; but it did not say anything about the consumption or purchase of alcohol. And so, through these loopholes, several illegal methods to obtain alcohol were discovered. Women protesting against alcohol abuse.
Moonshine, the self-made alcoholic
even grander evil born out of its
product is made through the process of
expulsion?
distillation in the comfort of one’s own home. Medically prescribed alcohol, prescribed by doctors and made legal by the Volstead Act, is taken advantage of by abusers. Speakeasies are illegal, underground locations hidden away from the eyes of law enforcement, free to produce and distribute liquor; and finally,
Smuggling
bringing
in
alcohol
(bootlegging), illegally
from
neighboring countries. Bootlegging is the most prominent form of illegal alcoholic activity.
A new era of gangsters was ushered in, dangerous crime lords who would stop at nothing to get what the people wanted; but for the right price of course. Powerful gang lords have immense networks of bootleggers and rumrunners at the tip of their fingers. The infamous Al Capone is just one example of a powerful gangster. And with the arrival of these gangs, the crime rate of cities across American is sharply increasing.
Now the question comes to mind: Was the banishment of one evil, worth the
…At the Old Ball Game By: Danica Calvert
“It’s a growing epidemic, sports will be the next big thing to take over the world. We all know it’s already got America’s heart strings all tangled up and they just can’t get enough.” A very bold sports broadcaster made this statement from New York, and America can’t help but agree. With sports on the rise its clear America will soon look very different. The 1920’s have been very good to the sports world. As baseball begins to hold the attention of women, children, and men all across America, the once recreationally played game is no longer only for the young hearted folks. The past decade has caused a huge boom in the sports world, new higher incomes have allowed for people to splurge on entertainment that was not an option before. With the support of large-‐scale companies and fans filling the stands, it’s time to play ball. Segregated leagues have brought white and Negro athletes to center stage for all to recognize their talent. With Americans having to work fewer hours, it gave them more time to enjoy the competitive entertainment of flawless golf games from Bobby Jones and tennis matches from Big Bill. Sports players have become know all through out, put on pedestals as tall as America heroes. The love of the game made players reach top celebrity status. “As soon as I got out there I felt a strange relationship with the pitcher's mound. It was as if I'd been born out there. Pitching just felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Striking out batters was easy.” A quote forms Babe Ruth himself, a top status baseball player in the league. But baseball isn’t the only growing sport; football has become a loved pastime for people. The famous Harold “Red” Grange has become the face of football over the last decade. He was also featured on the cover of our close friends Time magazine. Along side baseball, boxing made its return this decade and has become a much more respected sport. The fight between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney in Philadelphia in 1926 and their rematch in 1927 cough the attention of people across the nation. Women made another big splash in history when Olympic gold medalist Gertrude Ederle became the first women to swim across the English Channel in 1926 breaking the previous record time. By the end of the decade William Tilden and Helen Wills had perfected the game of Tennis. The 1920’s decade has brought all new light to people’s views on sports and their importance. The big names of sports will remain famous for decades to come. It’s clear that Americans will be playing ball for years to come.
Babe Ruth posing
It’s a Babe Thing By: Danica Calvert Being a woman of class and education myself has made watching the transition of women over the past decade particularly interesting. I was raised in a very conservative home and would now consider myself quite the liberal. However, make no mistake; my liberal mind does not impair my ability to see right from wrong in any way. Let me level with you. Women recently have acquired great heights in history. When the 19th amendment was passed in 1920, it marked a day that would not only stand out as a day of remarkable change in the 20’s, but in all of history. All of the protests, letters, and rallies, finally paid off when the 19th amendment was passed allowing women to vote. Many of those same twists that protested and fought so hard to earn the right to vote aren’t using it. The right to vote has already had drastic impacts in the short span of a decade. I do believe this new freedom is going well in the big picture of it all, but it was just a stepping-‐stone in the progressive moment for women to gain their rights. The all around perception of the modern frail has changed. Now a women can own her own car, work, or dare to express herself. I do not believe that a woman should be seen, not heard, but the barbaric ways of the young flappers is practically insulting.
Above: A pair of young hoofers
It’s clear that the average jane has become a little more than average. With all of these new joints, and speakeasy’s popping up, even the most refined young ladies morph into wind blown hoofers. With 1 or 2 hair of the dog in their system they let loose, a little to loose. A sister has become more interested in protesting for things like birth control, then becoming educated. The new styles portray everyone as a sheba, and draw attention to nothing, but a young tomatoes’ gams. I refuse to let all the dumb doras degrade that reputation of the few respectable ladies left in out society.
Top Political Cartoons of the Decade:
Created by Danica Calvert. “Teapot Dome Scandal”
Created by Alexander Kim. “The Red Scare”
SACCO & EXECUTED
VANZETTI
could not be said of Sacco and alas, both men were convicted, and executed.
BY: ALEXANDER KIM
The infamous criminal duo consisting of Ferdinando Nicola Sacco, and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were executed yesterday, August 23rd, 1927. They were lead to their demise by electric chair, refusing last prayers, and thanking the guards for their prosperity and kindness. The duo were prosecuted and incarcerated in 1921, after being tried for a string of criminal activity. Vanzetti was prosecuted for robbery and murder in Bridgewater, and Sacco was tried for a separate hold up in Braintree. Vanzetti’s trial was in August, and he maintained his innocence. Vanzetti’s trial became controversial as he pleaded innocent, but his pleas failed due to incompetent lawyers. After his conviction, he was then tried for the hold up in South Braintree. The Sacco-Vanzetti trials were very contentious, and both sides made many fallacies. Sacco was proved to be armed and dangerous, and both Sacco and Vanzetti lied about their political views (Both being anarchists). Vanzetti provided a solid alibi, while backed up by several citizens of the town. There were several discrepancies of the getaway scene, and their positions and locations. Questions like, “Why would men with access to a car be regulars on the bus and need access to a borrowed car to remove evidence?” Some say Venzetti’s alibi was solid enough to deem him innocent; the same
Bartolomeo Vanzetti pictured left, and Nicola Sacco pictured right.