Ringside+1925

=Ringside 1925=

Views From the Scopes Trial Written by Jen Bryant

Illustrator: Publisher: Place of Publication: Copyright Date: 2007 ** Genre: **Historical Fiction Values in Conflict Religion Friendship

__What was life like in 1925?__ (just after WWI and before the Great Depression)

__Transportation__: The Kelly Air Mail Act passed by Congress February 2 authorizes the U.S. Post Office Department to sign contracts with private companies for carrying the mail at rates ranging up to $3 per pound—rates that amount to government subsidies for airlines (//see// [|1921] ; scheduled service, [|1926] ). Engineer William Bushnell Stout sells his aircraft company to Ford Motor Company, and Henry Ford inaugurates commercial air service between Detroit and Chicago April 13 (//see// [|1922] ). The Ford Tri-Motor plane is the first all-metal American passenger plane, and Ford's Stout Air Line is the first to carry mail, but Ford's refusal to open his Detroit airport on Sundays hampers operations (//see// [|1926] ). Detroit investors pony up $25,000 for aircraft maker Edward Stinson to establish the Stinson Aircraft Syndicate, move his operations to Detroit, and develop a new monoplane on a site southwest of the city (//see// [|1920] ; Detroiter, [|1926] ). Colonial Air Transport starts carrying mail between New York and Boston. The company has been created by a merger of Boston's Colonial Airways with Eastern Air Transport, a line organized by Juan Trippe and John Hambleton with backing from Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and William H. Vanderbilt (//see// [|1923] ; Cuba, [|1927] ). Former Curtiss-Wright engineer Frederick Brant Rentschler comes to Hartford, Conn., in April to meet with the general manager of Niles-Bement-Pond's Pratt & Whitney Tool division (//see// commerce, [|1901] ). Looking for a facility to design and produce aircraft engines, he and his associates receive a cordial welcome, general manager Clayton Burt agrees to provide startup money and factory space, a contract signed in July permits the group to use the 65-year-old Pratt & Whitney name, and the 425-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine is completed Christmas Eve (//see// Lockheed Vega, [|1926] ). The light two-seat Moth introduced by Britain's De Havilland Aircraft Co. has a lightweight engine designed by Geoffrey de Havilland's longtime friend Frank Halford, who has modified a heavier, more complicated French engine (//see// [|1920] ). The Moth will be followed by the Gipsy Moth, Giant Moth, Hawk Moth, Swallow Moth, Tiger Moth, Fox Moth, Leopard Moth, and Hornet Moth that will serve as private planes, trainers, and light airliners, remaining in production for 20 years and making the company a commercial success (//see// [|1920] ; Mosquito, [|1941] ). Chrysler Corp. is created by a reorganization of Maxwell Motor (//see// [|1924] ; [|1926] ). Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors produce at least 80 percent of U.S. motorcars and will increase their share of the market. Henry Ford has 10,000 U.S. dealers, up from 3,500 in 1912. Each agency is required to stock at least one each of the 5,000 parts in a Model T (43 percent of the parts retail for 15¢ or less). Most Ford dealers receive their cars knocked down since seven knocked-down cars can be shipped in the railroad boxcar space required for only two assembled cars and a good mechanic can assemble the Model T in half a day. A new Ford roadster sells for $260. Motorcar pioneer Elwood Haynes dies at Kokomo, Ind., April 13 at age 67. Huffman Manufacturing Co. is founded at Dayton, Ohio, by Horace Huffman, who has sold his father's Davis Sewing Machine Co. and produces steel rims for bicycle wheels (//see// [|1899] ; [|1936] ). New York 's mayor John Hylan breaks ground with a silver-plated shovel March 14 at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 123rd Street for a municipal subway system that will compete with the BMT and IRT. Addressing a crowd of some 2,000 at Hancock Square in Washington Heights, the mayor tears into the Transit Commission (whose new members have been appointed by Gov. Smith) and the "million dollar traction conspiracy" of the "railroad corporations." The //Crescent Limited// leaves Canal Street Station at New Orleans April 26 to begin service between the Crescent City and New York via the Southern Railway, West Point Route, Louisville & Nashville, and Pennsylvania railroads. The all-Pullman luxury train charges a $5 premium over the regular fare. Chicago 's Union Station opens May 15 to serve four large railroads (formal opening is July 23). Under construction since 1913, the huge structure on Canal Street between Adams and Jackson streets occupies 10 city blocks, replacing an earlier Union Station built in 1881 with one having a neoclassical exterior and an ornate Beaux-Arts interior. The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters is organized August 25 at Harlem by A. (Asa) Philip Randolph, 36, who publishes The //Messenger//, a New York monthly devoted to black politics and culture. Monthly wages for porters have risen in the past year to $67.50 per month, up from a minimum of $27.50 in 1915; Randolph will work to raise them further. __Fashon__ Prohibition, the proliferation of jazz, and the development of mass media were the hallmarks of the 1920s. Youth was at a premium because so many young people were killed during the war. As a result, teenagers had a new freedom that they used to usher in the Afro-influenced jazz age. Clara Bow, Louise Brooks, Rudolf Valentino, and Josephine Baker were popular stars of the time, personifying many of the modern ideals. For women, face, figure, coiffure, posture and grooming became important fashion factors in addition to clothing. In particular, cosmetics became a major industry. Glamour was now an important fashion trend, due to the influence of the motion picture industry and the famous female movie stars. The 1920s saw the emergence of three major women's fashion magazines: Vogue, The Queen, and Harper's Bazaar. Vogue was first published in 1892, but its up-to-date fashion information did not have a marked impact on women's desires for fashionable garments until the 20's. These magazines provided mass exposure for popular styles and fashions. During the early 1920s, waistlines were at the waist, but were loose and not fitted. Women wore suits with long hemlines and somewhat full skirts, often with belts at the waist of the jackets. Dress and suit bodices alike were worn loose, even baggy. By 1923, waistlines began to drop to a point between the natural waist and hips, while styles continued to be loose and baggy. In 1924 the waistline dropped to the hip. In 1925, "shift" type dresses with no waistline emerged. At the end of the decade, dresses were being worn with straight bodices and collars. Tucks at the bottom of the bodices were popular, as well as knife-pleated skirts with a hem approximately one inch below the knee. In 1928, styles changed again! Hemlines rose to the knee and dresses became more fitted. These changes laid the foundation for the elegantly styled fashions of the 1930s. Many garments of the 1920s fastened with buttons. The closer-fitting flapper- style dresses fastened with a continuous lap, usually applied to the left side seam of the garment. Hooks and eyes, buttons, or snaps were all utilized to fasten the lap. The zipper, first patented in 1893, was not utilized in garments until the latter part of the decade. It was originally known as a “locker”, and did not receive its current name until 1926. It was not widely used until the late 1930s. Cotton and wool were the abundant fabrics of the decade. Silk was highly desired for its luxurious qualities, but the limited supply made it expensive. In 1891, "artificial silk" was first made from a solution of cellulose in France. After being patented in the United States, the first American plant began production of this new fabric in 1910. In 1924 this fiber became known as rayon. Rayon stockings became popular in the 1920s as a substitute for silk stockings. Rayon was also used in undergarments. Women, celebrating such liberties as the right to vote in, were now more daring than ever before. It was considered fun to smoke, visit speakeasies, wear makeup, swear, and otherwise shock conventional thinkers. In 1927 when short skirts were all the rage; young women strove to show off their knees with increasing abandon. Many girls even rolled down their stockings and painted rouge on their knees in an effort to emulate a "naughty schoolgirl" look. The foot also became a focal point of fashion. Shoe styles were influenced by crazes like the Charleston, a dance that demanded a securely fastened shoe with a low heel and closed toe. A single-bar pump with a pointed toe, high-waisted heel, and one tiny covered button was the most common style. High tongued, cutaway decorated, crossover, and t-straps were other popular elements. The curiosity for exotic arts and culture was fueled by the discovery of Egyptian King Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. Egyptian themes appeared in everything from furniture to clothing. Shoes also reflected this theme. Bright fabrics and brilliantly dyed leather - including metallics - were used to create some of the most exciting shoes ever seen. The heels were often works of art themselves. The late 1920s saw the adoption of two-toned spectators for men, perfect with the popular knickers. In the 20s, men were still in a conservative mood. The wide trousers were still worn, sometimes as wide as 24 inches at the bottom! The knickers and 'plus fours' were popular with sporty types, and were buckled 4" below the knee (hence the name 'plus fours'). Light colors were favored in summer, but darker and animal fur was favored when the weather got cold. By now all the college boys were wearing the popular raccoon coat, and some of the women were too.

__Entertainment__: The Battleship Potemkin movie was made in 1925, as was the Phantom of the Opera, the Gold Rush, and The Big Parade. The mechanical television, a precursor to the modern television, invented by John Logie Baird in 1925.

__Racial Tensions__:

__Economic Standards__:

__Religious Attitudes__:

** Taungs "man-like ape" stirs fury. Raymond Dart announces that a prehistoric "man-like ape" has been found in a limestone quarry at Taungs, South Africa. The fossils are found along with the skull of an ancient baboon that has a mysterious opening. Dart speculates that the clever "man-like ape" killed the baboon and extracted its brain for food. The implication -- that humans evolved through fierce hunting -- horrifies anti-evolutionists. One critic writes to Dart: "You ... have become one of the Devil's best arguments in sending souls to grope in the darkness." In later decades, Raymond Dart's analysis will be questioned by paleontologists who see the fossils as evidence that early human ancestors were scavengers rather than hunters. Neither interpretation appeals to anti-evolutionists.
 * 1925: Man-like Ape

Tennessee law bans teaching human evolution. By an overwhelming majority, the Tennessee legislature passes a bill that makes it a misdemeanor for public school teachers "to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man had descended from a lower order of animal." Backers of the bill argue that taxpayers have a right to control their children's education, and that most taxpayers oppose teaching human evolution. Governor Austin Peay, a self-described "old-fashioned Baptist," signs the bill into law. The law draws comment from around the nation. The American Civil Liberties Union puts out an ad calling for volunteers to challenge it. In Dayton, Tenn., a group of community leaders take notice of the ACLU's ad for volunteers to challenge the law. They recruit the support of science teacher John Scopes.
 * Spring 1925: Tennessee Law  **

Scopes trial puts controversy on center stage. This legendary test case over the teaching of human evolution makes headlines around the world. William Jennings Bryan, who leads the prosecution against John Scopes, sees it as a battle to uphold Christianity and the right of majority rule. Lead defense attorney Clarence Darrow, a self-proclaimed agnostic, views it as a battle against social conservatism more than a fight for Darwinism. Despite the myth later promoted, the trial is not a decisive win for Darrow. Both sides claim victory in the court of public opinion, and the trial spurs on the anti-evolutionist crusade.
 * Summer 1925: Scopes Trial  **

Biology textbooks censored. Fearing loss of sales in the South and West, publishers remove references to evolution from biology textbooks, including George William Hunter's //A Civic Biology//, the book at issue in the Scopes trial. The teaching of evolution is curbed around the country.
 * c. 1925: Textbooks Censored  **

Anti-evolution bills spread. In the years following the Scopes trial, some 35 new anti-evolution bills are proposed in 20 states, and three states pass laws. By the 1930s, many areas in which fundamentalists hold political sway have passed some form of restriction on teaching evolution. Some involve administrative rulings; others are school board resolutions. Almost all the South and some of the West are affected. Once in place, no Southern anti-evolution legislation is repealed for 40 years.
 * 1925-1930: Anti-Evolution Bills Spread  **

__Social Customs__ (dating and women's rights):


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