Crime And Corruption Wave In The 1920s

The Chicago Black Sox Scandal On August 4, 1921 eight men were banned from Major League Baseball by newly appointed baseball commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis for allegedly throwing the 1919 World Series. Eight men were accused of fixing the World Series for money. This scandal will forever be remembered in infamy and completely changed the image of professional baseball. Judge Landis became the first commissioner of baseball to fix the broken image of the sport and assure the public of no more scandals and fair play.

What happened in the 1920s when the 18th amendment was passed? The 18th amendment banned the production, sale, transportation, exportation, importation and consumption of alcohol. This law gave a rare chance to start a business that caused the rise of organized crime. The Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra (Our Thing), or the Mob, is the name of several clandestine organizations in Sicily and the United States. Before the 1920s the mafia’s main focus was on gambling, theft, and prostitution in order to make a profit, but when the Volstead act passed it increased their profits even more because all mafia organizations started a black market for bootlegging the outlawed alcohol and they also created speakeasies which was where they sold

During Herbert Hoover’s term in serving president for The United States Of America, The Great Depression revealed the negative and positive aspects of his presidency. To begin,

The level of influence a time period has on a country is defined by its political, economic, and social change. The 1920s was one of the most influential decades in the history of the United States. Corrupt politicians, tax cuts for the rich and new opportunities for women signify the influence of the Roaring 20s.

As one player says in the New York Times “I never did anything I regretted so much in my life.” That was Joe Jackson of the White Sox. This quote shows that many people were affected by the scandal and it changed the way people viewed baseball for the Decade. That is the first way I believe the 1919 World Series affected life in the 1920s The second way I believe the 1919 World Series affected life in the 1920s is because it was what a lot of people depended on for the happiness when times were tough.

Because he was an inexperienced politician, he didn’t know how to handle the crash. Although he wasn’t directly involved in the scandal, his reputation suffered. Even today, people remember him as a bad politician because of the Gold Market Scandal. Next, Grant’s secretary Orville E. Babcock used Grant’s power to help people evade taxes in the Whiskey Ring Scandal. After the Prohibition, alcohol manufacturers were heavily taxed.

The 1920’s was an interesting time in American history. This era was also known as the roaring twenties. Although it is remembered as a fond time before the Great Depression there was also a lot of conflicts arising, Cultural conflicts in particular were at the center. Prohibition and Immigration were two of the main cultural conflicts during this time period.

An Account of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal and 1921 Trial." An Account of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal and 1921 Trial. N.p., 2010. Web. 02 Nov.

This film plays a major part in exemplifying key aspects of baseball history. The Black Sox Scandal was a devastating event in history that caused spectators and fans to question the integrity of the game; they became skeptical on coming to games because they would not know if it was a real game or fixed. The eight players involved, hence the title of the film, were Eddie Cicotte, Chick Gandil, Oscar Felsch, Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Swede Risberg, Buck Weaver and Claude Williams. These players were bribed to throw the 1919 World Series game of the Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Red for $10,000 each by gamblers Joseph “Sport” Sullivan, William “Sleepy Bill” Burns, and Billy Maharg. Although this was their original plan, the players remained unpaid and decided to play and win the rest of the games.

Dean Smith, author of “The Black Sox Scandal”, highlights the biggest scandal in the baseball world. Smith introduces his article with Jim Crusinberry, a sports journalist, who arrived at the Sinton Hotel, Cincinnati for the World Series on September 30, 1919. Smith writes how Crusinberry noticed Abe Attell, former world featherweight boxing champion, screaming his throat out with a handful of money and offering to bet on Cincinnati Reds to beat the Chicago White Sox in the opening match. This behavior of Attell was twitching for Crusinberry, as to why he was betting against the greatest and finest team, Chicago White Sox, in the free-wheeling days of Americans gamblers.

M. Wilson, mentioned that the fans in the stands never really noticed who was on the field, instead they only examined what was on the field. They only looked for talent. They only came to see good baseball players. He also specified that “Race relations in baseball had reflected those in American society as a whole in the decades since the end of the civil war” which meant that sports, specifically baseball, had been affecting Americans ever since the 19th century. During this time the people who didn’t agree with American race relations decided to challenge the Jim Crow Segregation laws through baseball .

So they found Joe “ Guilty of throwing the game”. And was kicked out of the MLB by the commissioner. Joe Jackson’s later years were filled with regret and hate. Although the MlB found him “guilty,” shoeless Joe Jackson he still was trying to earn his way into the hall of fame.

History CA – Part C In 1929 the US experienced a huge change in economy known as the ‘Wall Street Crash’, this was the largest economic bust in American history. During the time of the economic depression, the president was Herbert Hoover, a republican who strongly believed in laissez faire, which essentially meant that he believed that things should be left alone, and not interfered with. Hoover believed that things would sort themselves out by themselves within a matter of time. For the citizens of the United States, this was seen as Hoover being useless, and not even attempting to make a change to the society, which was in ruins.

During the 20s, which became known at the Roaring 20s, American society was at an all time high and people were prospering as the nation’s wealth almost doubled and American was sent into the modern, consumer age. However following almost directly after the Roaring 20s, America entered a period of economic failure, also known as the Great Depression. During this period, the U.S faced economic, social, and political turmoil. The government and various individuals quickly sought after solutions to address the problems facing America during this time. Herbert Hoover, who was President at the start of the Depression, and his many reforms intended to revitalize the economy and create more jobs but would fail and his belief in rugged individualism

In summation of the segregation in baseball throughout the 20th century and its effects on society, it was a large contribution to ending racial discrimination. From all of the mentioned articles, it is evident that segregated baseball teams between blacks and whites were a major issue of history. It seems as if today, people still honor Jackie Robinson as a civil rights activist who has lead the way to a less racial society. Most people don’t realize that racism had a major effect on national league sports teams in the 1950’s. With racism’s great effect in major league sports teams, there were many other problems that blacks experienced, especially in the 20th century.