READ 105 Assignment
A. Identifying the eight elements in a story.
In the early 1900s the United States was a veritable stew (melting pot?) of nationalities. Besides British, Germans were a huge percentage of immigrants, followed by Austrians, Hungarians and others in the 1920s. When they immigrated to the United States they brought with them the culture of drinking beer (2% alcohol) throughout the day. Beer was safer than contaminated water from stagnant ponds and dirty rivers. It became an American "ritual celebration": drinking when meeting friends, drinking when sad, drinking after work, drinking to be manly, well, drinking every day. The problem was obvious. Men who drank every day created problems for their families. They would stay at the bar spending money needed for rent and food for the families. When they came home they beat their wives and children. They went to work in the morning with a hangover and caused accidents, or they missed work causing a slowdown in productivity. Women had no rights, no way to leave their husbands, no way to go out on their own. Suffragettes, started working toward rights for women, which would include voting rights, but that would come later.
Eventually, farmers began growing more grain, corn, oats and wheat, which could be distilled to make alcohol. It was much higher in alcohol content. Americans were drinking gallons of alcohol a year. This increased the problems at home and at the work site.
In 1893 the Anti-Saloon League formed through the churches to meet one goal: stop the drinking. It was made up primarily of Methodists and Baptists. Lutherans and Episcopalians didn't join as they were mostly from German descent and didn't appreciate the need. But the ALS was relentless and succeeded in getting the 18th Amendment passed which outlawed alcohol production, distribution and drinking of alcohol.
1. Purpose: (the plan or goal)
1) To stop the citizens from drinking the evil brew (alcohol) so that men would not beat and rape their wives, spend the rent money and abuse their children. Stop accidents from happening at work, as men kept attending while they were hangover.
2. Question at Issue
1) Can you legislate morality?
2) Can you enforce a policy that is against the wishes of the population?
3) How can enforcing a policy stop the population from consuming alcohol?
3. Assumption (1-3)
4. Implications and Consequences (1-3)
5. Information (facts) (1-3)
6. Concepts (what we think) (1-3)
7. Conclusions and Interpretations (1-3)
8. Point of view (Circle back to your Purpose) was the goal or purpose met? (1-3) In the POV you can include your closing comments or add that at the end of your paper.
B. Now using just what you wrote in your circle of elements in #1, write a statement (at least one paragraph) about Prohibition. (There will be 8 -24 statements from your points in 1.
C. Complete a SEE-I using your Circle above. (Prohibition)
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