Roaring Twenties | Rise of the Radicals | 1

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2021

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1919, American soldiers returned from the battlefields of Europe to face a nation torn apart by a different war. One-fifth of the nation’s workforce put down their tools and went on strike. Anarchists sent deadly bombs in the mail to congressmen and cabinet members. And a terrorist attack on Wall Street killed dozens.

As economic and political turmoil swept the country, government authorities moved to stamp out dissent. Targeting unionized workers, immigrants, and radicals, officials launched ruthless campaigns to drive out what they saw as threats to America.

It was the dawn of the Roaring Twenties, a decade of extremes that saw a rapidly changing nation caught between its past and its future.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music, download the app today.
0:18.0	Imagine it's the night of January 16th, 1920 in New York City.
0:23.0	You're working the bar of the Vanderbilt Hotel, and it's your final night on the job.
0:28.0	Prohibition is set to go into effect at midnight.
0:31.0	The bar is packed with revelers.
0:34.0	Even though a heavy snow is blanketing the sidewalks, it feels like the whole city is out for one last to rock.
0:40.0	To get the crowd's attention, you tap your bar spoon against a glass.
0:44.0	You have something to say.
0:46.0	Everyone, listen up.
0:47.0	Tonight, we lay rest a dear friend, a constant companion, someone who has been with us in good times and bad.
0:54.0	Rest in peace, our beloved alcohol.
0:58.0	You tie a black arm band around your search sleeve, and reach down behind the bar to pick up a small coffin you had a friend make for the occasion.
1:07.0	You lift it above your shoulders and walk toward the dance floor.
1:11.0	Alright, alright, give me all your empty bottles and glasses.
1:15.0	Then head to the bar, where my fellow bar keeps will be pouring free champagne for everyone.
1:20.0	You circle the dance floor, pausing for customers to place their empty glasses in the coffin.
1:27.0	Everyone seems to be in a festive mood, except one young man who sits at the end of the bar with his head in his hands.
1:34.0	Hey, perk up, kid. It's not that little champagne can't fix.
1:38.0	You return to the bar and pour the sad young man a glass of champagne.
1:43.0	He stares into the drink, waiting for the bubbles to subside.
1:46.0	Oh, I can't believe this has really happened.
1:49.0	The government's taking away the one place where I can find some peace.
	...

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