Why Is Woodrow Wilson So Important In The 1920s

The 1920s was a boom time for the American people. This is a well known fact, but behind this time is the politics that made it all possible. Politics is an important staple of the American lifestyle usually boiling down to either loving or hating it. The 1920s, while not only an extremely socially active period, was also a period of political change and Importance. The 1920s was one of the most politically diverse eras in U.S. history, from Prohibition to the prosperity of the Coolidge era. From the slow beginnings to the booming end, the full political diversity of the roaring 20s will be observed. The 1920s would begin with an extremely storied man known as Woodrow Wilson. Woodrow Wilson was the first President going into the 1920s. In

This event would be known as the Scopes Trial, after the last name of the defendant John Thomas Scopes. It began when John Scopes was accused of violating the Tennessee Butler Act which outlawed the teachings of evolution to school children. The trial was mainly seen as a publicity stunt for the town of Dayton and the surrounding county. Things really heated up when William Jennings Bryan, an important democratic figure, offered to head the prosecution. Clarence Darrow, one of the most famous defense attorneys of his time, would soon follow after seeing his long time rival Bryan join. This really brought the trial to mainstream attention.”A carnival atmosphere was about Dayton at the time of the trial” (Best of History Sites: Scopes Trial). Dayton saw the trial as a way to attract tourism and it worked outstandingly well for them. Eventually Scopes would lose the trial and be fined about 100 dollars, equivalent to about 1500 dollars in 2015, for teaching evolution. Scopes would later admit to not fully remembering if he even taught evolution, he just wanted to contribute to the attention. At the same time Tennessee senator John Washington Butler, for which the act outlawing evolution was named after, publicly admitted to not even knowing anything about evolution. He just heard that it went against the teachings of the

With the standard of living pretty low before 1920, many decided it time for some reforms. Seeing that politicians only cared about being re-elected or making money, committees were formed to root out dirty politicians. Another huge reform would be the changes to the food industry. After the horrid conditions in meat processing industries was brought forward, new bills were passed to confirm a higher standard in food prepping. Segregation was also seen as a priority. Even after the laws giving all men the right to vote following the civil war, Southern prejudice still found a way to prevail with many clever laws designed to keep African Americans from using their new found rights. New laws were put in place to make grandfather clauses illegal and outlaw poll taxes, giving more African Americans the right to vote. Even after all of these laws were passed, the underlying values of the deep south would still not end. “In the 20’s most African Americans lived in poverty” (Best of History 1). Last but not least, Immigration laws were passed limiting the number of immigrants allowed to come in. The immigration act of 1924 “set the quota of foreign born persons to 2% of those residing in the U.S” ( Digital History- Immigration Act 1924). This act would be the first time that the U.S. ever put a law regulating the amount of