Prohibition Hangover-- Part 7: The Economics and Politics

One notorious example of the Klan's involvement with Prohibition occurred in 1923-24 in southern Illinois' Williamson County, where the Klan mobilized hundreds of volunteers to raid saloons and roadhouses.  Hundreds of people were arrested and more than a dozen killed.

That kind of social friction helped spur efforts to repeal Prohibition.

Economics also played a role.

While some Prohibition supporters predicted it would boost the economy, instead it proved harmful.  Thousands of jobs were lost die to closures of distilleries, breweries and saloons.   Federal, state and local governments lost billions of dollars in revenue as liquor taxes disappeared.  One major consequence:  Increasing reliance on income taxes to sustain government spending.

The onset of the Great Depression hastened Prohibition's demise, as the need for more jobs and tax revenue became acute.  The Democratic Party called for the repeal of Prohibition in  its 1932 platform; its presidential nominee, Franklin D. Roosevelt, embraced that cause as he rolled to a landslide victory over incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover.

--CootPro

46 Fascinating Facts About Our 46 Presidents-- Part 7: Hoover to Kennedy

In honor of Presidents Day.

31.  HERBERT HOOVER  (1929-1933)

An Iowa native who spent part of his boyhood in Oregon, Hoover was the first president from west of the  Mississippi River.

32.  FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT  (193-1945)

  The longest serving president claimed to be distantly related to eleven other presidents, including his fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt.

33.  HARRY S. TRUMAN (1945-1953)

The "S" in his name was just an initial; it didn't stand for any name.  (The "S" in Ulysses S. Grant's name didn't stand for anything either.)

34.  DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER  (1953-1961)

World War II hero, "Ike" was the first president to ride in a helicopter.

35.  JOHN F. KENNEDY  (1961-1963)

After being injured and honorably discharged in World War II, he was briefly employed as a journalist during the closing weeks of the war.

--DaCootPres

A Native American Timeline-- Part 8: Indian Citizenship Act, the Code Talkers, Indian Civil Rights Act

**  JUNE 2, 1924:  U.S. Congress passes Indian Citizenship Act, granting citizenship  to all Native Americans born in the territorial limits of the country.  Previously, citizenship had been limited depending upon what percentage of Indian ancestry the person had, whether they had served in the military, or, of they were women, were married to a U.S, citizen.

**  MARCH 4, 1929:  Charles Curtis serves as the first Native American U.S. vice president under  President Herbert Hoover.

**  MAY 1942:  Members of the Navajo Nation develop a code to transmit messages and radio messages to U.S.  armed forces during World War II.  Eventually, hundreds of  Code Talkers from multiple  Indian tribes serve with the U.S. Marines during he war.

**  APRIL 11, 1968:  The Indian Civil Rights Act is signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, granting Indians many of the benefits guaranteed under the Bill of Rights.

**  MARCH 15, 2021:  Representative  Deb Haaland of New Mexico is confirmed as the Secretary of the Interior, making her the first Native American to lead a cabinet department.

"Growing up in my mother's Pueblo household made me fierce," she tweeted on her confirmation for the post.  "I'll be fierce for all of us, our planet, and all our protected land."

--Cooter

Longest Living Presidents

From the May 2, 2019, Kenosha (Wis.) News

10.  Richard Nixon   81 years

9.  Thomas Jefferson  83 years

8.  James Madison  85 years

7.  Harry S. Truman  88 years

6.  Herbert Hoover  90 years, 71 days

5.  John Adams  90 years, 248 days

4.  Ronald Reagan  93 years, 119 days

3.  Gerald Ford  93 years, 165 days

2.  George H.W. Bush  94 years, 171 days

1.  Jimmy Carter  94 years and counting

This past summer, Jimmy and Rosalyn celebrated their 73rd year of marriage.  No trophy wife for him.  Probably the most sincere and honorable president we've had since Harry S. Truman.

And, I Met Him When he Was Governor.  --Cooter

Presidential Yacht Mayflower-- Part 1: Veteran of Four Wars

From Wikipedia.

After his recovery from the wound he received at Vera Cruz in 1914, seaman Leon D. Robinson of Sycamore, Illinois, served aboard the presidential yacht Mayflower in 1915.

The Mayflower was a luxury steam yacht built in 1896 for millionaire Ogden Goelet who died on board it in 1897.  The Navy acquired it for the Spanish-American War and it was commissioned the USS Mayflower 24 May 1898.  It served off Cuba during the war and mounted six 6-pdr. guns.

It was decommissioned and then recommissioned in 1905 and played a prominent role in the negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War which netted President Theodore Roosevelt a Nobel Peace Prize.  from 1906-1929, it served as presidential yacht and hosted many diplomatic events.

President Herbert Hoover had the ship decommssioned and sold as a money-saving effort and in 1931, it was sold to a private individual.

--Cooter

Smithsonian Military Posters-- November 2015-- Part 2

Corn The Food of the Nation, Serve Some Every Meal.  Lloyd Harrison, United States Food Administration, circa 1918.

"In 1917 Herbert Hoover asked the housewives of America to register as members of the United States Food Administration.  Hoover encouraged all women involved in food preparation and management to pledge their service as household food conservators by following Food Administration recommendations for efficient preparation and consumption of food."

--DaCoot

World War I's United States Food Administration-- Part 2

From the Children In History Site.

Food became a weapon during World War I and no country produced more than the United States.  Herbert Hoover was put in charge of the USFA and he succeeded in cutting food consumption of those ones needed overseas.  He also was able to avoid the very real possibility of rationing.  he also managed to keep the Allied fed overseas.

He also had such programs as "Wheatless Wednesdays" and "Meatless Mondays."  he did everything he could to avoid anything mandatory.  His organization made much use of media and especially posters.

He designated a voluntary program and called for food conservation.  However, despite his success, many Americans did not like him or his program and began referring to it as "Hooverizing."

--Cooter