The Roaring Twenties - LPSwp.lps.org/kbeacom/files/2012/08/The-Roaring-20s.pdf · The Roaring Twenties was the decade of the US's failed attempt at Prohibition, of speakeasies and

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The Roaring TwentiesMarc Skulnick looks at a vibrant decade of peace, prosperity and social change

AFTER THE DARK times of the previous decade, the1920s offered a welcome respite, a time to kick backand enjoy the prosperity and promise that was evi-dent in nearly every facet of society.

Technological innovation and advancement meantthat more "life-improving" products than ever beforewere available. The economy was booming, the stan-dard of living was improving, jobs were plentiful andconsumers were looking to buy: from cars and housesto fridges and radios. Industrialization and mass pro-duction made many goods — previously considered aluxury — affordable. And if they couldn't afford it,banks and businesses were more than willing to letpeople buy on credit. Not only were people spending,but the stock market had them investing as well, somuch so, that throughout the decade, the Dow Jonesclimbed to record highs. A collapse, some of the morepessimistic experts warned, was all but inevitable.

This vibrancy was evident in the bold jazz music,and fancy night clubs that inspired everything fromthe controversial fashions of the flappers to the moviestars of the silver screen. The entertainment medium— radio and movies — came to the fore, as did sportsand literature. The '20s were the decade of Valentinoand Hemingway, of a mouse named Mickey and abaseball player called Babe.

The Roaring Twenties was the decade of the US'sfailed attempt at Prohibition, of speakeasies and boot-leggers — when it was illegal to drink but only if yougot caught. Organized crime, borne out of the wide-spread lawlessness of Prohibition, saw the age of thegangster — of Al Capone and Bugs Moran — thrustitself into the mainstream of a nervous American public.

It was the decade that saw the rise of Lenin andCommunism in Russia, the rise of fascism and Mus-solini in Italy and the disturbing popularity of the KuKlux Klan in America, which saw the secret society'smembership hit an all-time high. It was a time oftreaties, most notably the Washington Naval Treaty,which attempted to quell an arms race, in this periodof uneasy peace, by limiting the size of the navalarmaments.

Politically, the suffrage movement scored a longoverdue victory at the beginning of the decade whenwomen were given the right to vote (Canadian womenhad been allowed to vote federally since 1918). It soonbecame obvious that women weren't afraid to flextheir new power, both politically and socially.

Unaware of the hardship and poverty that was tofollow, the Roaring Twenties, allowed people to forgetabout the Great War and look to the future with a raresense of optimism.

History Magazine October/November 2005 —11

1920- The US Government's 18th

Amendment prohibiting the mak-ing, selling, possession and con-sumption of alcoholic beveragesgoes into effect, ushering in fee

era of Prohibition.

Arthur Meighen is sworn in asPrime Minister of Canada,replacing Robert Borden.

Republican Warren Hardingbecomes president of the United

States of America.

Fourteen British officers are exe-cuted by the IRA, sparking a day

of violence and murderthroughout Ireland.

United States passes the 19thAmendment, giving women the

right to vote.

: . 1921 "^0:^Canadians Frederick Banting and

Charles Best discover insulin.

The Russian navy mutinies toprotest food shortages and the

ongoing economic crisis. The Bol-shevik government crushes therevolt, which leads to Lenin's

economic policy reforms.

Oklahoma race riots erupt, asmany as 300 people are killed

and 35 city blocks are destroyed.

Britain's post-war recession wors-ens, with unemployment at 18percent (two million people).

• • . ; ; ' " ' . ; . ' ' , . : 1922 : . ' • ' . . -:James Joyce's Ulysses is published.

Pope Benedict XV, who reignedas pope of the Roman CatholicChurch since 1914, dies and is

replaced by Pope Pius XL

The German mark begins todevalue due to heavy WWI repa-

ration demands, ushering in aperiod of hyperinflation.

The Washington Treaty is signedby the US, Britain, Japan, Franceand Italy. The agreement limitsthe size of the naval armaments

of the nations involved.

Andrew Bonar Law becomesPrime Minister of Britain.

Vladimir Ilych Lenin proclaimsthe formation of the Union of

Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR):

Mickey Mouse"Mickey Mouse is the symbol of good-will, surpassing all languages andcultures. When one sees MickeyMouse, they see happiness."— Former US President JimmyCarter

MICKEY MOUSE, the cheerfully ani-mated rodenirsynonymous with-Disney for over 75 years, made hissilver screen debut on 18 Novem-ber 1928 in Steamboat Willie.

According to popular legend,Walt Disney came up with MickeyMouse as he was returning, viatrain, from a business meeting inNew York to his home in LosAngeles, California. Disney hadjust lost the rights to his mostrecent creation, Oswald the LuckyRabbit, and the crestfallen 26-year-old cartoon artist was determinedto come up with a replacementcharacter to work on back at hissmall studio.

By the end of the journey, Dis-ney had come up with a red velvetclad mouse he christened Mor-timer Mouse. However, Disney'swife, Lillian, hated the name Mor-timer and recommended Mickeyinstead. The name stuck and itwasn't long before Disney'snewest creation starred in PlaneCrazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho.The only problem was,*Al Jolson'sThe Jazz Singer, the first featurefilm to have synchronized sound,has just been released and nobodywanted silent cartoons anymore.Not only could Disney not find astudio willing to finance his ani-mated shorts, but audiences didn'tseem all that impressed with hismouse to begin with. Disney andhis team of animators went backto the drawing board.

In late November 1928, Disney— who had invested everythinghe had into a mischievous dancingmouse — screened SteamboatWillie, complete with sound, for agroup of film exhibitors. Threeweeks later, Mickey Mouse wasrunning at the Colony Theater andtaking New York cinema-goers bystorm. Although sound was still arelatively new development in fea-ture films, most theaters in the UShad installed sound systems and

Disney took full advantage. Hequickly added sound to MickeyMouse's previously ignored silentcartoons and began production ona fourth Mickey Mouse feature,The Barn Dance. Soon audiences

'*— 11.1 ̂ -.. f - - . • - • • - - . " - . . .: - . - - - • ' .

STEAMBOAT WILUEMickey Mouse made his silver

screen debut in Steamboat Willie.

across the US couldn't get enoughof Mickey and over the next year,12 more Mickey Mouse cartoonswould be released.

Steamboat Willie also heraldedthe introduction of Minnie Mouse,Mickey's eventual girlfriend. Aninteresting bit of trivia is thatMickey — voiced by Disney him-self until 1946 — did not speakuntil The Karnival Kid in 1929,although purists can note thatMickey Mouse does whistle inSteamboat Willie. Even back then, itdidn't take long for the Disneymerchandising juggernaut toswing into action and the firstMickey Mouse merchandise — achildren's school book — hit theshelves by the end of the decade.The first Mickey Mouse Club start-ed around that time also.

Mickey Mouse would go on tobecome the world's most famouscartoon character, starring in morethan 120 animated features andhelping to spawn a multi-billiondollar animation and theme parkempire. Talk about the mouse thatroared!

12 — History Magazine October/November 2005

Ivantage. Hend t~ Mickeyy i id silentn p Auction on.ouse feature,on audiences

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ade his silver•amb^t Willie.

n' enoughthe next year,

>use cartoons

also heraldedMinnie Mouse,prlfriend. Anvia is thatf Disney him-i not speak:d in 1929,i note thatwhistle in

;n back then, itthe Disneyernaut toid the firsthandise — aok — hit theif the decade,use Club start-also.vould go on tomost famousairing in morematures andnulti-billion1 th parkie .ise that

WHEN THE 18th Amendment to theUS Constitution went into effecton 16 January 1920, it became ille-gal to manufacture, sell or trans-port alcohol of any kind, any-where in the United States ofAmerica. America was officiallydry and the era of National Prohi-bition-would soon usher in avibrant but deadly subculture oforganized crime, speakeasiesand bootleggers.

However, the seeds ofprohibition were sowndecades earlier during theaggressive temperance (anti-drinking) movements of themid 19th century. In an effortto reduce the widespreadpublic drunkenness that wasbecoming problematic, a num-ber of states had passed tem-perance laws. Temperancegroups, promoting strict absti-nence from booze, blamedalcohol for the widespreaddegradation of society, for thepoverty and crime that seemed tosettle around the saloons and tav-erns. One of the most powerfuland influential temperance groupswas the Woman's Christian Tem-perance Union (WCTU), whichwas founded in 1874. It wasgroups such as the WCTU and theAnti-Saloon League, led by thelikes of Frances Elizabeth Willardand Carry Nation and workingwith the small but powerful Prohi-bition Party, that successfully lob-bied the US government for aNational Prohibition law.

The 18th Amendment waspassed in conjunction with theVolstead Act, an act which legallydefined an alcoholic beverage andgave authorities the power toinvestigate and prosecute thosewho proved to be in violation ofthe anti-liquor laws.

Prohibition, despite the bestefforts of the police, provedimpossible to enforce. Bootleggers(makers and distributors of illegalbooze) and speakeasies (an estab-lishment that sold illegal alcoholicbeverages) openly defied thecountry's anti-alcohol laws andcourtrooms across the US weresnowed under with alcohol-relat-

Prohibitioned offenses. In Chicago alone, thefirst six months of Prohibition sawover 600 liquor violation charges.In short, the legal system was col-lapsing under the weight of theapparent lawlessness and blatantdisregard for Prohibition. Orga-nized crime was rampant in NewYork and Chicage-and in-the-first -three years, more than 30 prohibi-

An FBI agent inspects a cache of illegal boozein a raid during Prohibition.

tion enforcement officers weremurdered. Gangsters simplybribed government officials, whoconveniently ignored any illegalactivity. Of course, not all officialswere corrupt and people like ElliotNess, Izzy Einstein and Moe Smithbecame popular for their doggeddetermination to uphold the law,however futile it seemed.

Since Prohibition in Canadawas left up to the individualprovinces, rum runners did briskbusiness smuggling legally pro-duced booze into the US. This ledto violence and crime at many ofthe US-Canada border crossings.

In 1921 — the first full year ofProhibition — there were 34,175individual arrests and over 30,000illegal distilleries and stills wereseized. By 1928, over 75,000 arrestswere being made and more than280,000 illegal stills had been shutdown. Authorities estimated therewere between 200,000 and half amillion speakeasies operating ille-gally across the country. Thesaloons and taverns had closed(just like the Anti-Saloon Leaguehad wanted), but were nowreplaced by the speakeasy andpeople were still spending their

seized

hard-earned wages on alcohol.Even the seemingly lawful use ofalcohol for medicinal purposeswas being abused; in 1928 alone, itis suspected that doctors pre-scribed over one million gallonsand earned as much as $40 millionUS by illegally prescribing medici-nal-alcohol'to thirsty patients. For -a law that was aimed at reducing

crime and other illegal behav-ior, it was proving to do any-thing but.

In the late 1920s, anincreasing number of Ameri-cans, politicians included,began to find the idea ofrepealing Prohibition attrac-tive. Not only was it expen-sive to enforce, but the federaland state governments nolonger had the tax from thesale of alcohol. This meant asmuch as half a billion dollarsannually was no longer avail-able. More importantly, anti-Prohibition groups, such as

the Association Against the Prohi-bition Amendment (AAPA) —which happened to be made up ofthe nation's wealthy and elite —started to spring up and pressuretheir friends in high places aboutthe inconvenience of not beingable to drink. Of course, every-body was drinking; they weresimply doing it illegally andbehind closed doors. Prohibitiontried to eliminate the supply with-out reducing the demand and bythe end of the decade, it becameobvious it wasn't working. Crimerates were nearly double that ofpre-Prohibition.

In 1932, Presidential candidateFranklin D. Roosevelt wisely .advocated a repeal of the coun-try's costly Prohibition laws. Thecountry was in the throes of theDepression and not only did Pro-hibition deprive people the oppor-tunity to (legally) drown their sor-rows in a drink, but it alsodeprived people of desperatelyneeded jobs. Prohibition wasrepealed in 1933 with the adoptionof the 21st Amendment and one ofthe most disastrous eras of lawenforcement in US history came toan end.

History Magazine October/November 2005 —13

(1922 continued)Benito Mussolini becomes Prime

Minister of Italy. ;

1923Hyperinflation is rampant in Ger-

many. In an effort to rescue theeconomy, the Reichsbank intro-

duces a new German mark, calledthe rentenmark, which is worth a

trillion existing marks.

King Tut's tomb, discovered theprevious year by George Carnar-

von and Howard Carter, is opened.

Ku Klux Klan claims membershipof one million people across

America and targets anyone whois not white and Protestant.

UK Prime Minister AndrewBonar Law is diagnosed withthroat cancer, resigns and is

replaced by Stanley Baldwin.

US President Harding dies inoffice and is replaced by vice-

president Calvin Coofidge.

, . 1924 'Lenin dies; Joseph Stalin becomes

; his successor.

James Ramsay MacDorialdbecomes the first Labour Prime

Minister of Britain. He is defeatedlater that same year by the very

man he replaced, Baldwin.

Republican Coolidge is elected aspresident of the US.

The US stock market hits a five-year high with 2.33 million sharestraded on the New York exchange

inoneday.

Nellie T. Ross becomes the first:

female governor in the US!

Adolf Hitler is sentenced to fiveyears for his part in the failed

"Beer Hall Putsch" of the previ-ous year. During his time in

prison, he composes Mein Karnpf.

:•• . . ' • 1925..;. • • . ;.Tennessee bans the teaching ofevolution. School teacher John

Scopes is later arrested for teach-ing the theory of evolution and

found guilty

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Grea tGatsby is published.

Part one of Hitler's Mein Kampf• is published.

The Jazz Age

Flappers of the

IF THE WAR years were about cut-ting back, the 1920s were aboutcutting loose; they didn't call it theRoaring Twenties for nothing. Alsoknown as the Jazz Age, the 1920ssignified a time of prosperity, tech-nological innovation and socialchange; it was a time to be young,a decadeoLunbridled optimism

The most noticeable change inNorth America after the Great Warwas the widespreadprosperity; therewas an improvedstandard of livingand after scrimpingand saving throughthe lean years ofWWI, people werelooking to spend.The industry ofmass productionthat had manufac-tured the necessi-ties of war had nowexpanded to pro-duce the necessitiesof life and then some. This meantthat former luxuries — which hadexisted prior to this period — suchas telephones, refrigerators, radiosand cars were now affordable.Coupled with more spendingpower (the result of a boomingeconomy), advertisers had noproblems attracting customers to arange of life improving products.

Radio came to prominence dur-ing the '20s and by 1923 there wereover 500 radio stations broadcast-ing everything from news andsports to music and comedy shows.In fact, by the end of the decade,over 10 million homes in the USwould boast at least one radio.

Radio's success was helped bythe overwhelming popularity ofjazz music. Musicians such asLouis Armstrong, King Oliver andSidney Bechet ushered in a newera of musical expression. Jazzmusic seemed to sum up the moodof the decade: it was bold, modern,stylish and exuberant. Nightclubs— where patrons could dance,smoke and drink illegal hoochfrom hip flasks — dedicated to thisnew type of music sprang upacross America. Scatting, in whichnonsensical words are sung or har-

monized, became hugely popular.Not only did the music anger theestablishment, it led to controver-sial dance moves like theCharleston and the One Step,which took the younger generatiojby storm and further threatened ;the morals of society.

America's, vibrant music and inightclub scene influenced the stylja,and fashion that reflected a

woman's increasingpower in society. ;Women not onlyhad the vote, but :they could drink,smoke, dance andcarouse with thebest of them. Thesebrash females, with'their bobbed hair,short dresses andheavy make-upbecame known asflappers, due in paA

„ . _ ,, to the way in whichi:Roaring Twenties. ., . J a ,their arms flapped

when they danced.It was during the '20s that the

age of the "movie star" was born.Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer was thefirst "talkie" and stars like RudolpJValentino and Clara Bow wereearning a fortune starring in featurifilms. Movies like The Mad Whirl,The Plastic Age and Walking Backhelped to define an era. By the endof titie decade, over 100 million peopie a week went to the movies.

The '20s also saw an unprece-dented period of literary excellencthat introduced both coveted andcontroversial works by the likes oiErnest Hemingway, F. ScottFitzgerald and William Faulkner.Fitzgerald and Hemingway werepart of a group of writers knownas the "Lost Generation", eschew-ing America's rampant materialisefor Paris and living there for muchof the '20s and '30s. Fitzgerald'sThe Great Gatsby is said to be a classic depiction of the Jazz Age.

Not everything about theRoaring Twenties was positive.There was Prohibition, the rise ofthe Ku Klux Klan, and of course,the Stock Market Crash of 1929,which would usher in the GreatDepression of the '30s.

14 — History Magazine October/November 2005

hugely popular.;nusic anger thead ntrover-lik .ee One Step,unger generatiorher threatenedsty.rant music andfluenced the style:flected aman's increasing/ver in society,men not only1 the vote, buty could drink,oke, dance andause with thet of them. Thesesh females, withir bobbed hair,>rt dresses and.vy make-upame known as>pers, due in parlhe way in whichir arms flapped

•he '20s that thestar" -as born.: S' was the:arb -j<e Rudolpha Bow weretarring in featureThe Mad Whirl, IWalking Back }

i era. By the end !1100 million peo-|the movies. j

aw an unprece- Iterary excellence]th coveted and 15 by the likes of jr, F. Scott Iliam Faulkner. fningway werewriters knownation", eschew-pant materialism; there for muchi. -Fitzgerald'ssaid to be a clas-Jazz Age.;about thevas positive,ion, the rise ofand of course,!ras> 1929,r i . Great30s.

The Washington Naval TreatyIN THE YEARS following WWI, itbecame obvious that one way ofavoiding another war was to limitthe size of each nation's arma-ments.

This, however, appeared to flyin the face of the naval arms racethat was brewing between the vic-torious, allied nations, not to men-tion the mounting tensions sur-rounding the strategically impor-tant Pacific. The goal of the Inter-national Washington Naval Con-ference, which was held betweenNovember 1921 and February1922 in Washington, DC, was toestablish an agreed upon set ofregulations among the navalforces of the nations involved.

The resulting WashingtonNaval Treaty was signed on 6 Feb-ruary 1922 by representatives fromthe US, Britain, Japan, France andItaly. The agreement actually incor-porated three separate treaties: theFour-Power Treaty, the Five-PowerTreaty and the Nine-Power Treaty.

The Four-Power Treaty, signedby the US, Britain, Japan'and

France covered each respectivenation's naval bases in the Pacific,with the countries involved basi-cally agreeing to continue to runexisting naval bases but making itillegal to build new fortifications inspecified areas around' the Pacific.

The Five-Power Treaty whichincluded Italy, essentiaEyJimited--the total capital ship tonnage ofeach of the signatory nations. Aratio which took into account thebalance of military power at thetime was established between thenations. For every five US and UKbattleships, Japan was allowedthree ships and France and Italywere allowed 1.75 ships. Whileallowing certain exceptions forships in current use, a ship build-ing moratorium was declared for aperiod of 10 years.

Finally, the Nine-Power Treatysaw the Big Four, plus Italy, Bel-gium, the Netherlands, Portugaland China formally agree torespect Chinese territorial integri-ty and independence.

The nations attempted to get

around the main Five-PowerTreaty, working to figure out waysto have the fastest, lightest anddeadliest ship under the treaty. Formost of the navies, this involvedretrofitting existing ships.

Although the treaty appearedto be effective, critics argued that itkcked-sufneient-enforeement - --—-authority to ensure the nationsstuck to its regulations. It couldalso be argued that the treaty hadthe biggest adverse affect on theUS, who, along with Britain, hadthe largest area to defend but hadits shipbuilding program halted bythe agreement. For most of thenations that had signed the Wash-ington Naval Treaty, battleshipshad become so valuable that by thestart of WWII, they were seldomused for fear they would be sunk.

A further agreement — calledthe London Treaty — would fol-low in 1930. Japan, unhappy withthe treaty from the start, would bethe first nation to terminate itsinvolvement in 1936, effectivelyending the treaty.

The Stock AlarketCras^WHEN THE NEW York StockExchange crashed on 24 October1929, it not only left millions ofinvestors penniless, but it signaledan end to a decade of prosperity.

Otherwise known as BlackThursday, the Wall Street Crashfollowed an unprecedented periodof economic growth throughoutAmerica as new life-improvingtechnology and industrializationhad the US economy booming.

Millions of Americans wereinvesting heavily in the stock mar-ket and from 1921 to 1929, theDow Jones Industrial Averagejumped from 60 points to over 350.Self-made millionaires were every-where and eager investors weredoing everything from mortgagingtheir homes to investing every lastpenny of their life savings to getinto the stock market. As a result,this drove share prices up to artifi-cially high levels, which in turn,encouraged more and more peopleto invest, causing stock prices toskyrocket .even further. Of course,

. this caused even more people toinvest everything they had, con-:vinced that the stocks would sim-ply continue to rise: further. Thisfrenzied trading, which saw peo-ple go heavily into debt, createdan oyer-inflated economic bubblewhich was set to burst at any time.

'- On 24 October 1929 it did justthat, as more than 12 millionshares were liquidated by pan-icked investors desperate to : i ":• ;:;;•;;unload the soon-to-be worthlessstocks. Ln the days after BlackThursday, a further 30 millionshares —- which were now worth-less, were sold —wiping out over$5 billion worth of investments.

By the end of the year, another$16 billion worth of shares woulddevalue an4the results were dev- •astating. People were left bothpenniless and homeless, as banks,desperate to recoup some of themoney they lent out, repossessedhomes and businesses. Makingmatters worse was the fact that thebanks themselves had ploughed V

.over $140 billion of their clients'savings in the stock market, which

.; -meant that even those customers.;:;:;?;who hadn't even invested in thestock exchange had lost every-"

.-/ thing without even knowing it.Whether the stock market :.

crash was the sole cause of the; ensuing Great Depression or sim~.

ply a contributing factor has been- ;•;debated for decades. Regardless, i.tleft millions of people broke; and y";jobless, forcing the formerly well

: off to struggle to make ends meet.: Poverty was rampant and it would

•be almost 30 years before the Dow: • Jones would return to the heights

it reached during the Roaring (andbooming) Twenties.

One good thing to come out of: the crash were safety measures

that would temporarily halt trad-ing in the event of sudden decline,

: preventing the mass panicked sell-ing that caused Black Thursday,This helped to ensure that subse-quent crashes were never as severefinancially • : ^

' . . ' - . ' - " . ' . V ' ' • • • . -

History Magazine October/November 2005 —15

1926Canadian Prime Master WilliamLyon Mackenzie King resigns inthe wake of the King-Byng Affairand subsequent customs scandal.

Striken with acute peritonitis,silent film star Rudolph Valentino

dies suddenly at age 31.

Leon Trotsky is expelled from the"Soviet CoTErmffivtsf Party,; leavingStalin with, undisputed control of

the Soviet Union

Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) ofJapan dies. He is succeeded by

his son, Hirohito.

V . ' 1927' ' ' • • ' ' - . • ; • . ; " .Al Jolson's The Jazz Singer

-• becomes the first feature ;film tohave synchronized sound.

First transatlantic commercial tele-.phone service goes into operation.A three-minute call between New

York and London costs $75 US.

One thousand people a week diein Britain from widespread

influenza epidemic.

• :- '• " . - / . ' - • : 1928 ';-, .• •;:; - - - : ; . ; ' - ' - . ; .Penicillinis discovered by

Alexander Fleming.

Stalin's first five-year plan isannounced, calling for develop-ment of heavy industry, seizure

of farms and collectivization of all'.'- ;• ' . . ..".'••• workers. : ; • : '.',.

Seventy years in the making, theOxford English Dictionary is^ c o m p l e t e d .

The New York Stock Exchangecrashes, ushering in what will be

a world-wide economic crisis.

Ramsey MacDonald againreplaces Baldwin as Prime

Minister of Britain.

Herbert Hoover, a republican,becomes 31st president of the US.

More than two million people dieof starvation in China and contin-

ued famine threatens millionsmore.

The Academy of Motion PictureArts and Sciences gives out itsfirst Academy Awards of Merit,

later dubbed "the Oscars",

Charles Lindbergh's FlightWHILE WORKING AS a mail pilot inSt. Louis, Missouri, Charles Lind-bergh heard about the lucrative$25,000 US reward being offeredby Raymond Orteig, a wealthyhotel baron, to the first person(s) tofly non-stop between New York,USA and Paris, France. The offerhad been-on the table for well over-five years, without any takers.Lindbergh decided he was just theperson to claim the prize.

With the financial support of agroup of local businessmen, Lind-bergh set about designinghis customized plane, whichhe called The Spirit of St.Louis in their honor. With amodest budget of $15,000US, Lindbergh's design,which was centered on a sin-gle engine, appeared to fly inthe face of conventional air-plane ideology, which wasall about multiple enginesand improved power.

Lindbergh, on the otherhand, reasoned that a singleengine meant less weight,which would ultimately

the question. Lindbergh even cuthis navigational papers down tosize, keeping only what was need-ed for his journey.

When The Spirit of St. Louiswas finished two months later, itweighed a mere 2,150 Ibs and hada flight range of 4,000 miles, morethan enough to-getfrom Paris to- .,.New York.

On 20 May 1927, after waitingeight days for favorable weatherconditions, Lindbergh and his tiny,silver plane took off from Roo-

Charles Lindbergh stands in front of The Spiritof St. Louis prior to takeoff. A map shows

the historic route.

mean increased fuel efficiency.Never mind that flying over theAtlantic Ocean with one engineleft him no room for error.

The only problem was, Lind-bergh couldn't find an airplanemanufacturer willing to constructhis plane. Worse still, with airplanetechnology slowly improving, oth-ers were making well publicizedplans to take a run at the as yetunclaimed prize.

Lindbergh hit pay dirt whenhe was contacted by the Ryan Air-lines Corporation of San Diego,California. Not only could theybuild Lindbergh's plane, but itwould only cost him $6,000 of histotal budget, minus the engine.

Scheduled to be airborne with-in two months, the tiny plane wasbuilt strictly to get from New Yorkto Paris without stopping and as aresult, features such as additionalfuel tanks were incorporated intothe design. To keep the plane'sweight down, every item was care-fully scrutinized for its heft, whichmeant that necessities such as aparachute and radio were out of

sevelt Field in Long Island, NewYork bound for Paris, France. Over33 hours and 3,600 miles later, afterbattling ice, fog and fatigue, "theflying fool" as he was known insome me'dia circles, was standingsafely on Le Bourget Field inFrance surrounded by over 100,000rapturous well wishers. Lindbergh,a fool no more, had become thefirst person to fly solo, non-stopacross the Atlantic Ocean. "LuckyLindy" as he was now known,became a global media darling.

After touring Europe as theguest of various governments,Lindbergh returned to a hero'swelcome back in America, wherehe was presented with both theCongressional Medal of Honor andthe Distinguished Flying Cross bythe United States government.Many credit "Lucky Lindy" withhelping to commercialize the glob-al aviation industry. In fact, eventoday, many airlines still use thesame commercial routes that Lind-bergh helped chart in the years fol-lowing his famous trans-Atlanticflight.

16 — History Magazine October/November 2005

ightiergh even cutpers A nwn tovb s need-

t of St. Louislonths later, it50 Ibs and had00 miles, morefrom Paris to

7, after waiting:able weather•gh and his tiny,f from Roo-.— ., ."-TLANTIC OCEAN,

The Growth of Communism in Russia

•ont of The SpiritA map shows:e.

; t ., Newis, France. Over •miles later, after?. fatigue, "theas known inwas standing:t Field inby over 100,000lers. Lindbergh,become the>lo, non-stop}cean. "Lucky3W known,dia darling,irope as themerriments,to a hero's

nerica, whereith both theil of Honor andlying Cross byivernment.• Lindy" withialize the glob-In fact, even

; still use theutes that Lind-in P ars fol-ra, xdantic

COMMUNISM, the belief that everyindividual in a society should beconsidered equal and share theirwealth, with property held by thestate, became popular in Russia inthe early 20th century and a politi-cal juggernaut in the 1920s.

However, the roots of commu-nism can be traced back to the mid19th century with the formation ofthe Communist League in 1848.The League, an organization ofGerman emigre workers based inLondon, asked Karl Marx andFreidrich Engels to help themwrite a document that summed uptheir beliefs. Marx and Engelswould go on to write the Commu-nist Manifesto.

Modern Communism inRussia, however, startedwith the split, in 1903, of theRussian Social DemocraticLabor Party (also known asthe Marxist Party) into fac-tions of Bolshevism (mean-ing majority) and Menshe-vism (meaning minority).The more radical Bolshe-viks, led by Vladimir IlychLenin, advocated revolutionand violence to bring aboutthe downfall of capitalismand the establishment of aninternational socialist state.Lenin further believed that

Bolscheviks would wage a long,hard civil war before they couldclaim victory.

From 1918 until 1921, a periodwhich became known as war com-munism, banks, railroads andshipping were nationalized andthe economy was restricted. NotsuTprisingry;lt did-n't take long foropposition, includ-ing strikes andmutinies, to begin.The workers, whowanted to be paid incash for their prod-ucts, didn't like hav-ing to turn over

Vladimir Ilych Lenin, top right, led the Bolsheviks tovictory and established Russia as a Communist state.

the workers should control themeans of production and'that soci-ety should be for the workingclass, not just the wealthy.

Russia's defeat in WWI left thecountry with nothing and theRussian people were ready to sup-port another uprising. The triumphof the Bolsheviks in the RussianRevolution of 1917, also called theOctober Revolution, gave them theleadership in socialist action, andthey created the Communist partyin 1918. Not everyone, however,supported Lenin and the fracturedsupport gave rise to the RussianCivil War in 1918.

The civil war, between the Bol-sheviks (also called "Reds") andthe liberals, conservatives andmoderate socialists (also called the"Whites") who opposed Leninresulted in widespread sufferingfor millions of Russians. The

their surplus grain to the govern-ment as a part of its war policies.Making matters worse was thedevastating food shortage thatkilled tens of thousands of Russ-ian peasants. Faced with growingpeasant opposition, Lenin began aretreat from war communismknown as the New Economic Poli-cy (NEP) in 1921.

As part of the NEP, workerswere permitted to sell any surplusproduction for profit in the openmarket. However, the state contin-ued to be responsible for trans-portation, banking, public utilitiesand heavy industry. Around thesame time as the implementationof the NEP, the Union of SovietSocialist Republics (USSR) wasestablished as a federation on 30December 1922..

Lenin's program was highlysuccessful and the economy, devas-

tated by years of civil war andunrest, recovered. However, theNEP would be faced with increas-ing opposition from within theparty in the years followingLenin's death in 1924.

A power struggle followedLenin's passing, between Leon

Trotsky, Lenin's" "right-hand man andleader of the SovietRed Army, andJoseph Stalin, ahigh-ranking gov-ernment official.Trotsky was defeat-ed and fled, leavingStalin to adaptLenin's existingcommunist policiesto his liking. Stalinwould become dic-tator and prove tobe a ruthless leader.

In 1929, Stalinended the existing NEP andreplaced it with the first ofmany five-year plans, underwhich heavy industry was tobe expanded. In rural areas, thepeasant farmers were forced tojoin together in collective,farms. Many peasants objectedto Stalin's new co-op policy.Workers destroyed their cropsand slaughtered their animals

in protest rather than conform.The resulting Great Terror,

would see millions of protestersmurdered for opposing Stalin'sCommunist vision. Not evenwidespread famine in 1932, whichsaw Stalin continue to exportgrain even though it was neededto feed the Russian people, couldget him to alter his hardline 'stance. It is estimated that fivemillion Russians perished, withmillions more murdered in"purges" ordered by the Russiandictator.

Stalin would go on to terrorizehis own people until his death in1953. Proponents of Communism— choosing to overlook Stalin'smurderous and inhumane meth-ods — point to the fact that from1929 to 1941, Russian industrygrew rapidly as proof thatCommunism can work.

History Magazine October/November 2005 —17