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fandomhigh2006-04-17 12:32 pm
professor-lyman.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2006-04-17 12:32 pm
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US History (Monday, April 19, 7th period)
Josh was in a much better mood today. Too bad the subject of class was Prohibition and the Great Depression, huh?
"In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, banning the sale of alcohol in the United States, was ratified." He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That didn't work. The law only banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of the stuff--not the possession or consumption--so Americans got creative. They made their own, they invented the speakeasy--a place where you had to convince the bouncer that you weren't a dry agent to get in--they had prescriptions written for the medicinal consumption of whiskey."
Josh paced around the room. "Heck, even the politicians who had voted for Prohibition had booze around: the President of the United States at the time, Warren G. Harding, kept the White House fully stocked. And because this law was so easy to get around, people began to lose their respect for all laws--not a great result. The 18th Amendment was repealed with the 21st Amendment in 1933. This example from history might be serve as a warning to current politicians about trying to legislate morality - " he shrugged, " - but that would require thinking, so probably not."
He looked down at his notes. "Now, onto the Great Depression. It was great, if depressing." He looked around the room. "Okay, that wasn't helpful, was it? People are still trying to figure out exactly what caused the Great Depression, or made it last so long, but most people at the time blamed the stock market crash beginning on Black Thursday, October 24 and continuing through Black Tuesday, October 29 for the initial recession, then go on to blame a decrease in international trade and a drought across the Midwest for prolonging it."
Josh ran a hand through his hair. "The point is, it was long, it was terrible, it was world-wide. In 1933, more than a quarter of the entire workforce in the United States was out of work--that this was the year Prohibition was repealed? Not such a coincidence. The government flailed for a good few years trying to come up with a way to stop the depression and finally came up with the New Deal through the general greatness that was Franklin Delano Roosevelt."
Josh went on to discuss the implications of the New Deal, pausing for gushing anecdotes on the coolness of FDR, before finally dismissing the class. "For those of you wondering, your final exam will be next Wednesday, April 26. Start flailing now, avoid the rush."
"In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, banning the sale of alcohol in the United States, was ratified." He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. That didn't work. The law only banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of the stuff--not the possession or consumption--so Americans got creative. They made their own, they invented the speakeasy--a place where you had to convince the bouncer that you weren't a dry agent to get in--they had prescriptions written for the medicinal consumption of whiskey."
Josh paced around the room. "Heck, even the politicians who had voted for Prohibition had booze around: the President of the United States at the time, Warren G. Harding, kept the White House fully stocked. And because this law was so easy to get around, people began to lose their respect for all laws--not a great result. The 18th Amendment was repealed with the 21st Amendment in 1933. This example from history might be serve as a warning to current politicians about trying to legislate morality - " he shrugged, " - but that would require thinking, so probably not."
He looked down at his notes. "Now, onto the Great Depression. It was great, if depressing." He looked around the room. "Okay, that wasn't helpful, was it? People are still trying to figure out exactly what caused the Great Depression, or made it last so long, but most people at the time blamed the stock market crash beginning on Black Thursday, October 24 and continuing through Black Tuesday, October 29 for the initial recession, then go on to blame a decrease in international trade and a drought across the Midwest for prolonging it."
Josh ran a hand through his hair. "The point is, it was long, it was terrible, it was world-wide. In 1933, more than a quarter of the entire workforce in the United States was out of work--that this was the year Prohibition was repealed? Not such a coincidence. The government flailed for a good few years trying to come up with a way to stop the depression and finally came up with the New Deal through the general greatness that was Franklin Delano Roosevelt."
Josh went on to discuss the implications of the New Deal, pausing for gushing anecdotes on the coolness of FDR, before finally dismissing the class. "For those of you wondering, your final exam will be next Wednesday, April 26. Start flailing now, avoid the rush."
Sign in (April 17)
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Listen to the lecture
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"What made anyone think prohibition would have been a good idea? Weren't they ever teenagers?" she asks. "I mean, it's like when my parents try to ground me from going out on dates. I'd say I was staying after school or had to work on a project, or something else school-related, but I always found a way to go, you know?"
Re: Listen to the lecture
Re: Listen to the lecture
Thirteenth colony politicians just as dumb as home, she writes in her notes. Some things seemed inevitable, sadly.
Why weren't all politicians as smart as the school teachers?
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After class
Re: After class
OOC