Host Cody Crouch takes us on an unforgettable ride through the moments that made the U.S.A. the country it is today.
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Centuries Collide TBN Version | Cody Crouch: Party in the USA | Centuries Collide | December 4, 2024
- Cody crouch: i'm cody crouch.
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- On my new show, "centuries collide, american history," i'm
- 00:00:03.059 --> 00:00:05.962
- Traveling across the united states uncovering the incredibly
- 00:00:05.962 --> 00:00:09.866
- True history of what makes our nation so great.
- 00:00:09.866 --> 00:00:13.503
- We're recreating some of american history's greatest
- 00:00:13.503 --> 00:00:16.039
- Moments exactly how they happened.
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- Male: didn't you think the rock would be bigger?
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- Cody: welcome to the craziest, strangest, most whatever-est
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- Crash course on american history.
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- Buckle up, it's time for "centuries collide."
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- ♪♪♪
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- Cody: america loves a good party, am i right?
- 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.195
- And during the second decade of the 20th century, america had a
- 00:00:39.195 --> 00:00:43.166
- Ton of reasons to celebrate.
- 00:00:43.166 --> 00:00:45.535
- World war i was over, and yes, the good guys won.
- 00:00:45.535 --> 00:00:48.538
- We had new cars to drive and jazzy new music to jazz out to.
- 00:00:48.538 --> 00:00:53.076
- It's time to party, and sure, alcohol might be illegal, but
- 00:00:54.744 --> 00:00:58.648
- When has a pesky little rule ever stopped americans
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- From partying?
- 00:01:01.484 --> 00:01:02.986
- Boston tea party, anyone, anyone?
- 00:01:02.986 --> 00:01:06.956
- The 1920's are here and this decade is one big party.
- 00:01:08.124 --> 00:01:13.096
- We've got booze, jazz music, flapper girls, gangsters, fast
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- Cars, more booze, and to top it all off, one of the biggest
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- Hangovers in american history.
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- Welcome to the roaring twenties, or as i like to call it,
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- Party in the usa.
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- ♪♪♪
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- Cody: before we get to the 1920's,
- 00:01:39.923 --> 00:01:44.227
- Let me catch you up to speed.
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- The beginning of the 20th century falls within a period
- 00:01:45.728 --> 00:01:48.264
- Called the progressive era.
- 00:01:48.264 --> 00:01:50.066
- There was a ton of immigration, the west had been one, we
- 00:01:50.066 --> 00:01:53.002
- Officially have 45 united states, and many of the reforms
- 00:01:53.002 --> 00:01:57.140
- That were sparked by the second great awakening a hundred years
- 00:01:57.140 --> 00:01:59.943
- Prior are finally coming to pass.
- 00:01:59.943 --> 00:02:02.812
- The progressive era focused on workers' rights, social welfare
- 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.583
- Programs, and creating laws around the day's big
- 00:02:06.583 --> 00:02:09.919
- Moral issues.
- 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:11.254
- For instance, thanks to child labor laws, kids weren't allowed
- 00:02:11.254 --> 00:02:14.557
- To work in factories anymore.
- 00:02:14.557 --> 00:02:15.892
- Male: sorry kids, but you're fired.
- 00:02:15.892 --> 00:02:18.461
- You're fired, you're fired, and you're fired, especially you.
- 00:02:18.528 --> 00:02:25.134
- Oh, don't be a sore loser, kid, stop crying.
- 00:02:25.201 --> 00:02:27.971
- Cody: and women's suffrage was finally a thing.
- 00:02:28.037 --> 00:02:30.840
- The 19th amendment ensured that women could vote.
- 00:02:30.907 --> 00:02:34.277
- Finally, women could legally suffrage as good as any man.
- 00:02:34.277 --> 00:02:37.814
- So, let's hear it for the ladies.
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- During these big progressive changes, concerns about food
- 00:02:40.783 --> 00:02:44.187
- Safety led to upton sinclair's expose, "the jungle," which
- 00:02:44.187 --> 00:02:47.957
- Spurred the creation of the fda and established food
- 00:02:47.957 --> 00:02:51.094
- Safety laws.
- 00:02:51.094 --> 00:02:52.462
- These new forward thinking ideas like purified water, sanitary
- 00:02:52.462 --> 00:02:56.266
- Conditions in meat packing plants, and putting labels on
- 00:02:56.266 --> 00:02:59.135
- The food we eat, kept us from getting e coli and dysentery and
- 00:02:59.135 --> 00:03:03.706
- Even mad cow disease,
- 00:03:03.706 --> 00:03:06.109
- Which brings us to booze.
- 00:03:06.109 --> 00:03:07.777
- Now, america has always loved to drink, right?
- 00:03:07.777 --> 00:03:10.647
- But thanks to the temperance movement, we were finally
- 00:03:10.647 --> 00:03:13.249
- Getting sober about getting sober, but maybe a little too
- 00:03:13.249 --> 00:03:17.520
- Sober though.
- 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:18.888
- The thought was banning booze would fix the world's problems.
- 00:03:20.123 --> 00:03:23.726
- It would end crime, prostitution, reduce poverty,
- 00:03:23.726 --> 00:03:27.230
- And create happy, healthy families.
- 00:03:27.230 --> 00:03:29.699
- But you can't use legislation to create a moral society, doesn't
- 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:34.237
- Work, never will, which they tried with prohibition in 1919.
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- More on that later.
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- The progressive era ended around the time our boys came home from
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- World war i. america was a superpower, we were the richest
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- Country on earth, and we were ready to get down.
- 00:03:48.918 --> 00:03:52.822
- So, let's get the party started.
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- Male: let's get this party started.
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- Cody: now, as any good american teenager knows, if you wanna get
- 00:04:03.933 --> 00:04:08.171
- To the party, you gotta have transportation, which is where
- 00:04:08.171 --> 00:04:12.475
- Henry ford comes in.
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- Little henry grew up on a farm here in dearborn, michigan, but
- 00:04:14.811 --> 00:04:17.914
- Farming wasn't really his thing.
- 00:04:17.914 --> 00:04:20.383
- Boy: farming isn't my thing, i like machines.
- 00:04:20.383 --> 00:04:24.354
- Cody: as a teenager, he moved to the big city of detroit where he
- 00:04:25.722 --> 00:04:28.658
- Worked as a machinist, which basically means he did machine-y
- 00:04:28.658 --> 00:04:32.495
- Kind of things, and this kid was hooked.
- 00:04:32.495 --> 00:04:35.465
- Male: i'm hooked on machine-y kinds of things.
- 00:04:35.531 --> 00:04:38.534
- Cody: henry eventually got a job at thomas edison's company, as
- 00:04:38.601 --> 00:04:41.838
- In the light bulb guy, where henry worked his way up to
- 00:04:41.838 --> 00:04:44.807
- Chief engineer.
- 00:04:44.807 --> 00:04:46.175
- In his spare time, henry worked on his machine-y things until
- 00:04:46.175 --> 00:04:49.812
- One day he had a lightbulb moment of his own.
- 00:04:49.812 --> 00:04:52.982
- Male: what if there were a gasoline powered machine?
- 00:04:52.982 --> 00:04:56.919
- Cody: henry ford built a gasoline powered machine that
- 00:04:56.986 --> 00:04:59.789
- Could take people from one place to another.
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- Male: i call it the quadracycle.
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- Cody: so, maybe branding wasn't his thing either.
- 00:05:08.131 --> 00:05:11.901
- Well, this poorly-named machine of his, which was basically a
- 00:05:11.968 --> 00:05:14.704
- Lazy boy on top of a weed eater on top of four bicycle wheels,
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- Was the start of an american revolution.
- 00:05:19.175 --> 00:05:22.111
- I mean, it changed everything.
- 00:05:22.845 --> 00:05:25.648
- Let me show you how.
- 00:05:25.715 --> 00:05:27.350
- A few years later, he created the model t, which kind of built
- 00:05:27.417 --> 00:05:30.953
- The modern world as we know it.
- 00:05:30.953 --> 00:05:33.523
- To create a car for the masses, the ford company invented the
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- Assembly line.
- 00:05:36.993 --> 00:05:38.394
- It used to take 13 hours to build a model t, but thanks to
- 00:05:38.394 --> 00:05:42.565
- The assembly line, it only took 93 minutes.
- 00:05:42.565 --> 00:05:46.235
- Cars only cost a few hundred bucks, which meant millions of
- 00:05:46.235 --> 00:05:49.439
- Americans could afford to buy one, even if they shouldn't.
- 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.310
- By 1926, 75% of all car purchases were made using
- 00:05:54.377 --> 00:05:59.248
- America's favorite party slogan.
- 00:05:59.248 --> 00:06:01.984
- No, no, no, no, no, the other party slogan.
- 00:06:03.486 --> 00:06:05.621
- No, no, the other, other party slogan.
- 00:06:06.823 --> 00:06:09.492
- That's the one.
- 00:06:10.493 --> 00:06:12.028
- I mean, what better way to start an american party than with a
- 00:06:12.028 --> 00:06:14.864
- Ton of debt, and americans loved their cars.
- 00:06:14.864 --> 00:06:21.037
- Of course, now we need gas stations, diners, motels, we
- 00:06:21.103 --> 00:06:25.575
- Need rubber for the wheels, we need petroleum to fill
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- The tanks.
- 00:06:28.344 --> 00:06:29.679
- Streets and highways had to be constructed which cost millions
- 00:06:29.679 --> 00:06:33.115
- Of dollars and created new jobs.
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- The one-room schoolhouse was no more, now the government paid
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- For kids to be transported to bigger schools, and seriously,
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- If you thought the quadracycle was ugly, get a load of a 1920
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- School bus.
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- And here's where the party really gets exciting.
- 00:06:50.233 --> 00:06:52.835
- The invention of the car led to the invention of america's
- 00:06:52.835 --> 00:06:56.539
- Favorite pastime, and i'm not talking baseball, i'm
- 00:06:56.539 --> 00:07:00.710
- Talking dating.
- 00:07:00.710 --> 00:07:02.078
- No, really, courtship is what they called the old way of
- 00:07:03.846 --> 00:07:07.416
- Finding a mate.
- 00:07:07.416 --> 00:07:08.751
- It was usually more formal with adult supervision and not a lot
- 00:07:08.751 --> 00:07:12.288
- Of making out, but now kids could drive away from their
- 00:07:12.288 --> 00:07:16.292
- Chaperones and basically do whatever they wanted.
- 00:07:16.292 --> 00:07:20.029
- Male: what does that mean?
- 00:07:20.963 --> 00:07:22.565
- Female: oh, you know.
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- Male: let's hitch up the wagon.
- 00:07:27.336 --> 00:07:28.838
- Cody: and if you thought quadracycle was a poor name for
- 00:07:30.506 --> 00:07:33.142
- A car, check out with this famous 1920's judge called
- 00:07:33.142 --> 00:07:36.646
- The automobile.
- 00:07:36.646 --> 00:07:37.980
- Male: those newfangled quadracycles are places of
- 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:40.716
- Ill repute.
- 00:07:40.716 --> 00:07:42.084
- A house of prostitution on wheels.
- 00:07:42.084 --> 00:07:45.187
- Cody: and that right there is how henry ford will forever be
- 00:07:45.254 --> 00:07:48.558
- Remembered as an all-american party animal.
- 00:07:48.558 --> 00:07:51.994
- Male: he's a party animal, but he doesn't drink.
- 00:07:51.994 --> 00:07:56.432
- Cody: at least on our show.
- 00:07:58.234 --> 00:07:59.635
- So, we've got the transportation, we've got the
- 00:08:03.673 --> 00:08:06.776
- Cash, what else do you need to throw a good old
- 00:08:06.776 --> 00:08:10.479
- All-american party?
- 00:08:10.479 --> 00:08:11.847
- Oh, yeah, how about guns and alcohol, and why not throw some
- 00:08:13.916 --> 00:08:17.987
- Gangsters in there while we're at it.
- 00:08:17.987 --> 00:08:19.655
- Welcome to the most exciting part of the party, prohibition.
- 00:08:19.655 --> 00:08:23.426
- Let me break it down for you.
- 00:08:24.594 --> 00:08:26.128
- January 16th, 1920, the 18th amendment becomes the law of
- 00:08:26.128 --> 00:08:31.100
- The land.
- 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:32.435
- It said the manufacture, sale, and transportation of
- 00:08:32.435 --> 00:08:35.338
- Intoxicating liquors were now prohibited.
- 00:08:35.338 --> 00:08:38.407
- That's right, booze was illegal.
- 00:08:38.474 --> 00:08:41.777
- This was a really big deal.
- 00:08:41.844 --> 00:08:43.546
- Americans loved their booze, so much so that it inspired
- 00:08:43.546 --> 00:08:47.617
- The architecture.
- 00:08:47.617 --> 00:08:48.951
- Here in chicago, the carbide building was designed to look
- 00:08:48.951 --> 00:08:52.355
- Like a bottle of champagne.
- 00:08:52.355 --> 00:08:53.756
- In fact, alcohol was a huge part of the economy.
- 00:08:54.890 --> 00:08:58.527
- At the time, it was the fifth largest industry in the united
- 00:08:58.527 --> 00:09:01.931
- States, so how in the world did this happen?
- 00:09:01.931 --> 00:09:06.035
- There's a lot of factors, but the whole thing probably never
- 00:09:06.102 --> 00:09:10.072
- Would have happened if it wasn't for a little boy
- 00:09:10.072 --> 00:09:12.274
- Named wayne wheeler,
- 00:09:12.274 --> 00:09:14.677
- Better known as the biggest party pooper
- 00:09:14.677 --> 00:09:17.613
- In american history.
- 00:09:17.613 --> 00:09:19.015
- Boy: partying is not my thing.
- 00:09:19.015 --> 00:09:20.850
- Farming is my thing.
- 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:23.886
- Cody: like basically everybody in history, wayne grew up on a
- 00:09:26.022 --> 00:09:29.325
- Farm, and one fateful day in the 1870's, everybody was hard at
- 00:09:29.325 --> 00:09:33.596
- Work doing farmy things.
- 00:09:33.596 --> 00:09:35.164
- Well, almost everyone.
- 00:09:35.164 --> 00:09:36.766
- One of the farm workers had a bit of a drinking problem, and
- 00:09:36.766 --> 00:09:40.136
- He had a pitchfork, and this pitchforking party guy got so
- 00:09:40.136 --> 00:09:44.073
- Drunk he accidentally stabbed little wayne with his pitchfork.
- 00:09:44.073 --> 00:09:53.849
- Boy: ouch!
- 00:09:57.186 --> 00:09:58.521
- Cody: from that moment on, little wayne dedicated his life
- 00:09:58.521 --> 00:10:01.023
- To the temperance movement.
- 00:10:01.023 --> 00:10:02.792
- In 1902, wheeler became the director of the anti saloon
- 00:10:02.858 --> 00:10:06.729
- League, which was kind of like the party pooper avengers.
- 00:10:06.729 --> 00:10:10.466
- Their entire mission was to abolish alcohol from
- 00:10:10.466 --> 00:10:13.569
- American life.
- 00:10:13.569 --> 00:10:14.904
- No one was as committed as wayne wheeler.
- 00:10:14.904 --> 00:10:18.174
- He even earned the nickname locomotive in trousers.
- 00:10:18.174 --> 00:10:22.111
- Male: toot, too.
- 00:10:22.611 --> 00:10:23.979
- Cody: wayne wheeler would do practically anything to gain
- 00:10:23.979 --> 00:10:26.882
- Political power.
- 00:10:26.882 --> 00:10:28.250
- He held rallies in different cities, he donated generously to
- 00:10:28.250 --> 00:10:32.054
- Political allies, and demonized political opponents.
- 00:10:32.054 --> 00:10:35.491
- The u.s. government created the bureau
- 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:40.096
- Of prohibition to be the strongarm
- 00:10:40.096 --> 00:10:42.665
- Of the anti-party movement.
- 00:10:42.665 --> 00:10:45.067
- Male: probies unite.
- 00:10:45.067 --> 00:10:46.535
- [laughing]
- 00:10:46.535 --> 00:10:49.205
- Cody: these prohibition agent guys, nicknamed probies, would
- 00:10:49.205 --> 00:10:53.142
- Go around shutting down saloons, they dumped thousands of kegs of
- 00:10:53.142 --> 00:10:57.346
- Beer into the gutters, into the river, they even hunted down
- 00:10:57.346 --> 00:11:01.484
- Illegal booze makers and smugglers.
- 00:11:01.484 --> 00:11:03.652
- Male: oh, come on, man.
- 00:11:05.888 --> 00:11:07.990
- Cody: thanks to prohibition, the party in the usa was over and no
- 00:11:08.057 --> 00:11:10.993
- One ever drank again.
- 00:11:10.993 --> 00:11:12.495
- [heavenly music playing]
- 00:11:12.561 --> 00:11:15.965
- Cody: just kidding, just like wealthy politicians
- 00:11:15.965 --> 00:11:18.267
- And tax codes, there's always a loophole.
- 00:11:18.267 --> 00:11:21.704
- If you wanted to drink legally, you could always go to the
- 00:11:21.704 --> 00:11:24.974
- Pharmacy and buy liquor for, get this, medicinal purposes.
- 00:11:24.974 --> 00:11:30.045
- Male: this is for my fibromyalgia-matosis.
- 00:11:30.045 --> 00:11:32.414
- Cody: and get this, you could also buy booze from your local
- 00:11:34.483 --> 00:11:37.319
- Clergymen for religious purposes.
- 00:11:37.319 --> 00:11:40.523
- Male: it's for religious purposes.
- 00:11:40.589 --> 00:11:43.993
- Cody: whoo, hallelujah, or you could make your way to a secret
- 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:48.097
- Unlicensed bar called a speakeasy, as long as you knew
- 00:11:48.097 --> 00:11:53.002
- The password.
- 00:11:53.002 --> 00:11:54.403
- And these places were everywhere, from dingy backrooms
- 00:11:55.805 --> 00:11:59.175
- And basements to fancy clubs with jazz bands and
- 00:11:59.241 --> 00:12:02.444
- Ballroom dancefloors.
- 00:12:02.444 --> 00:12:04.380
- Here's where the mob comes in.
- 00:12:04.446 --> 00:12:05.948
- These gun-toting gangsters were here to fight for your right to
- 00:12:05.948 --> 00:12:09.552
- Party and they kept the illegal booze flowing.
- 00:12:09.552 --> 00:12:13.255
- Here's some of the best at being the worst.
- 00:12:13.322 --> 00:12:16.625
- Male: party people, put your hands together for charles
- 00:12:17.760 --> 00:12:21.764
- Lucky luciano.
- 00:12:21.764 --> 00:12:25.034
- Cody: born in sicily, italy, lucky luciano basically created
- 00:12:26.202 --> 00:12:30.339
- The template for the classic mafia figure we see in movies
- 00:12:30.339 --> 00:12:33.676
- Like "the goodfellas" and "the godfather," and he made america
- 00:12:33.676 --> 00:12:38.047
- An offer we couldn't refuse.
- 00:12:38.047 --> 00:12:40.015
- Fun fact, he was terrible at grammar but great at supplying
- 00:12:40.015 --> 00:12:44.620
- Booze to the new york party scene.
- 00:12:44.620 --> 00:12:46.856
- Male: i'll give to you the boozes, you give me the monies.
- 00:12:46.922 --> 00:12:50.426
- Cody: and he made a killing.
- 00:12:50.492 --> 00:12:52.361
- After bribing the cops...
- 00:12:52.995 --> 00:12:55.064
- Male: we good here?
- 00:12:55.130 --> 00:12:56.465
- Cody: politicians and probies, he raked in a cool $4 million
- 00:12:56.465 --> 00:13:01.437
- A year.
- 00:13:01.437 --> 00:13:02.771
- And then there's jack diamond.
- 00:13:02.771 --> 00:13:04.573
- This guy was an irish-american
- 00:13:04.573 --> 00:13:06.709
- Gangster who supplied parts
- 00:13:06.709 --> 00:13:08.410
- Of philly and new york with booze.
- 00:13:08.410 --> 00:13:11.547
- And like all legit gangsters, he had his own unique nickname.
- 00:13:11.547 --> 00:13:16.018
- Male: ladies and gentlemen, jack the legs diamond.
- 00:13:16.018 --> 00:13:22.057
- Cody: legs was known for his legs for one of two reasons, he
- 00:13:24.126 --> 00:13:28.864
- Could outrun the cops, or his killer dance moves.
- 00:13:28.864 --> 00:13:34.870
- But legs's life wasn't one big party, there was kidnappings and
- 00:13:36.872 --> 00:13:41.377
- Murders and bouts of gang fights that come with the
- 00:13:41.377 --> 00:13:44.346
- Gangster life.
- 00:13:44.346 --> 00:13:45.681
- In the end, he reaped the violence he sowed and was gunned
- 00:13:45.681 --> 00:13:51.687
- Down by his rivals.
- 00:13:51.687 --> 00:13:53.489
- Male: cheers to legs.
- 00:13:53.555 --> 00:13:57.026
- Group: cheers.
- 00:13:57.026 --> 00:13:59.128
- Male: let's bring this beat back, oh, yeah.
- 00:13:59.128 --> 00:14:04.300
- Cody: which brings us to the most notorious prohibition
- 00:14:08.470 --> 00:14:11.173
- Gangster of all time.
- 00:14:11.173 --> 00:14:13.008
- Male: give it up for the one, the only, al capone, scarface.
- 00:14:13.075 --> 00:14:17.112
- Cody: al capone was the undisputed mob boss of chicago,
- 00:14:21.216 --> 00:14:24.787
- Running gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging rackets.
- 00:14:24.787 --> 00:14:28.324
- I mean, so what if he's a murderous criminal?
- 00:14:28.324 --> 00:14:31.727
- He was a huge celebrity in his day.
- 00:14:31.727 --> 00:14:34.730
- Like a smooth-talking politician, he understood the
- 00:14:34.797 --> 00:14:37.766
- Importance of a good public image.
- 00:14:37.766 --> 00:14:39.935
- He donated to charity.
- 00:14:41.670 --> 00:14:43.339
- Al capone: and a little something for you, sister.
- 00:14:44.473 --> 00:14:47.409
- Cody: he ran a soup kitchen.
- 00:14:49.144 --> 00:14:51.347
- Male: this is the best soup i've ever had.
- 00:14:51.413 --> 00:14:56.218
- Cody: some people even viewed him as a modern-day robin hood.
- 00:14:56.285 --> 00:14:59.855
- And when he showed up to a chicago cubs game, the crowds
- 00:14:59.922 --> 00:15:03.125
- Went wild.
- 00:15:03.125 --> 00:15:04.526
- And he was basically a walking book of proverbs for a
- 00:15:06.295 --> 00:15:09.331
- 1920's gangster.
- 00:15:09.331 --> 00:15:10.833
- Al: be careful who you call your friends.
- 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.869
- I'd rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.
- 00:15:13.936 --> 00:15:18.240
- Cody: at the height of his criminal enterprise, capone
- 00:15:19.475 --> 00:15:21.677
- Raked in about $100 million a year, and this guy owned
- 00:15:21.677 --> 00:15:25.247
- Everybody, politicians, lawyers, judges were all on his payroll.
- 00:15:25.247 --> 00:15:30.919
- Al: vote early and vote often.
- 00:15:30.986 --> 00:15:33.622
- Cody: and it's estimated that he owned 50% of the chicago police
- 00:15:34.923 --> 00:15:38.794
- Force, but eventually the public turned on capone.
- 00:15:38.794 --> 00:15:45.601
- On february 14th, 1929, seven men were murdered in a parking
- 00:15:45.667 --> 00:15:50.372
- Garage, shot to death by tommy guns.
- 00:15:50.372 --> 00:15:53.342
- It was a culmination of a violent turf war between two
- 00:15:53.409 --> 00:15:56.178
- Gangs, al capone's chicago outfit, and george the bugs
- 00:15:56.178 --> 00:16:00.015
- Moran's irish north siders.
- 00:16:00.015 --> 00:16:01.917
- People loved the booze, they loved the women, and they loved
- 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:06.922
- Capone's parties, but the violent valentine's day massacre
- 00:16:06.922 --> 00:16:10.492
- Was just too much even for capone's biggest fans.
- 00:16:10.492 --> 00:16:14.763
- Al: you kill a few people on v-day
- 00:16:16.065 --> 00:16:18.700
- And all the love goes away.
- 00:16:18.700 --> 00:16:22.771
- Cody: eventually the party ended for capone, but for someone so
- 00:16:22.838 --> 00:16:27.242
- Exciting, i find it ironic that he was convicted of what has to
- 00:16:27.242 --> 00:16:31.480
- Be the most boring crime of all time, tax evasion.
- 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:36.652
- Al: they can't collect legal taxes from illegal money.
- 00:16:38.053 --> 00:16:41.957
- Male: good one.
- 00:16:42.958 --> 00:16:44.660
- Cody: capone in no way lived the wholesome american dream, but he
- 00:16:44.726 --> 00:16:48.430
- Did fulfill one of his oddly spoken proverbs.
- 00:16:48.430 --> 00:16:52.201
- Al: i would rather be rich, affluent, and greedy and go to
- 00:16:53.602 --> 00:16:57.339
- Hell when i die than live in poverty on this earth.
- 00:16:57.339 --> 00:17:01.276
- Male: raise the roof.
- 00:17:03.645 --> 00:17:05.347
- Cody: you see, in the 1920's, americans didn't stop partying,
- 00:17:09.551 --> 00:17:14.123
- They just changed the way they partied.
- 00:17:14.189 --> 00:17:16.725
- For example, old fashioned saloons catered almost
- 00:17:16.792 --> 00:17:19.628
- Exclusively to men.
- 00:17:19.628 --> 00:17:22.431
- If ladies wanted to drink, they could enter the side door known
- 00:17:22.498 --> 00:17:26.168
- As the ladies entrance, but in the 1920's, a brand new woman
- 00:17:26.168 --> 00:17:30.606
- Had emerged and she was ready to walk through the front door with
- 00:17:30.606 --> 00:17:34.143
- The boys.
- 00:17:34.143 --> 00:17:35.511
- The modern woman in the 1920's was more independent than ever.
- 00:17:35.511 --> 00:17:39.348
- Thanks to world war i, she had entered the workforce and
- 00:17:39.348 --> 00:17:42.618
- Decided to stay.
- 00:17:42.618 --> 00:17:43.952
- She could vote, she could ride in cars with boys,
- 00:17:43.952 --> 00:17:47.289
- She wore lipstick,
- 00:17:47.289 --> 00:17:48.857
- And cut her hair short.
- 00:17:48.857 --> 00:17:50.192
- She loved to dance and she was
- 00:17:50.192 --> 00:17:51.994
- Ready to show off her ankles.
- 00:17:51.994 --> 00:17:54.496
- By any traditional standard, the girls had gone wild.
- 00:17:54.496 --> 00:17:59.101
- So, we've got the transportation, we've got the
- 00:18:01.637 --> 00:18:04.473
- Booze, we've got men and women entering the same door, but
- 00:18:04.473 --> 00:18:08.343
- Every party needs a killer playlist, and the 1920's gave us
- 00:18:08.343 --> 00:18:12.314
- Jazz music.
- 00:18:12.314 --> 00:18:13.682
- And undoubtedly, the most famous jazz artist of the era was
- 00:18:13.682 --> 00:18:17.519
- Louis armstrong.
- 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:18.887
- Now, i know what you're thinking, just like every other
- 00:18:20.355 --> 00:18:22.925
- Famous person on the planet, louis had to have grown up on a
- 00:18:22.925 --> 00:18:26.428
- Farm, right?
- 00:18:26.428 --> 00:18:28.096
- Actually, no, little louis grew up right here in new orleans in
- 00:18:28.163 --> 00:18:32.668
- A neighborhood so rough and poor they called it the battlefield.
- 00:18:32.668 --> 00:18:37.005
- His mother was a prostitute and his dad abandoned them when he
- 00:18:37.005 --> 00:18:41.009
- Was just a little kid.
- 00:18:41.009 --> 00:18:42.444
- Louis left school in the fifth grade to begin working as a
- 00:18:42.444 --> 00:18:45.113
- Junk collector.
- 00:18:45.113 --> 00:18:47.049
- Boy: junk is not my thing.
- 00:18:47.115 --> 00:18:48.450
- Cody: louis's life took a surprising turn on new year's
- 00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:51.453
- Eve 1912.
- 00:18:51.453 --> 00:18:52.955
- After shooting his stepfather's gun during a party, he was
- 00:18:52.955 --> 00:18:56.158
- Arrested and sent to live at a boys home.
- 00:18:56.158 --> 00:18:58.660
- It was here that he received formal training in music with
- 00:18:59.861 --> 00:19:02.831
- The cornet, and he was hooked.
- 00:19:02.831 --> 00:19:05.968
- As a teenager, louis worked odd jobs during the day, but at
- 00:19:06.034 --> 00:19:09.404
- Night he would play blues music.
- 00:19:09.404 --> 00:19:11.840
- Louis armstrong: music is my thing.
- 00:19:11.840 --> 00:19:13.542
- Cody: he caught the attention of the greatest cornet player in
- 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:16.478
- Town, joe king oliver.
- 00:19:16.478 --> 00:19:18.947
- Eventually, oliver began mentoring louis.
- 00:19:18.947 --> 00:19:21.583
- As america entered the 1920's, louis entered the chicago and
- 00:19:21.650 --> 00:19:25.587
- New york jazz scenes.
- 00:19:25.587 --> 00:19:27.089
- In a three-year span, he made more than 60 records, and today
- 00:19:27.089 --> 00:19:31.827
- They're regarded as the most influential jazz recordings
- 00:19:31.827 --> 00:19:35.230
- In history.
- 00:19:35.230 --> 00:19:36.765
- Louis's rise to fame coincided with a major technological
- 00:19:36.832 --> 00:19:40.135
- Breakthrough in the era, the radio broadcast.
- 00:19:40.135 --> 00:19:43.272
- During the 1920's, hundreds of radio stations emerged and
- 00:19:43.338 --> 00:19:47.776
- People started buying radios for their home.
- 00:19:47.776 --> 00:19:50.078
- This was a huge deal.
- 00:19:50.712 --> 00:19:52.648
- You see, before the radio, people had to wait for the daily
- 00:19:52.648 --> 00:19:55.417
- Paper to get their news, but now a radio broadcast could be live
- 00:19:55.417 --> 00:20:00.355
- And instantaneous.
- 00:20:00.355 --> 00:20:01.757
- Radio sitcoms like "amos and andy" were like the must-binge
- 00:20:03.091 --> 00:20:06.595
- Tv of the day, and people in small towns like joplin,
- 00:20:06.662 --> 00:20:11.066
- Missouri could be listening to the same exact music as people
- 00:20:11.066 --> 00:20:14.803
- In big cities like chicago or la.
- 00:20:14.803 --> 00:20:18.440
- Jazz grew out of new orleans and took over the speakeasies and
- 00:20:18.507 --> 00:20:22.044
- The airwaves of the 1920's.
- 00:20:22.044 --> 00:20:23.412
- Jazz is considered to be the only true, uniquely american
- 00:20:25.247 --> 00:20:29.685
- Art form.
- 00:20:29.685 --> 00:20:31.053
- It's the music of the melting pot.
- 00:20:31.053 --> 00:20:32.387
- It's a fusion of african and slave folk music and classical
- 00:20:32.387 --> 00:20:36.058
- European riffs.
- 00:20:36.058 --> 00:20:37.626
- Jazz had something for everyone, men and women, black and white,
- 00:20:37.693 --> 00:20:42.097
- Rich and poor, and like america, jazz is best when different
- 00:20:42.097 --> 00:20:46.301
- Peoples, cultures, and traditions come together in a
- 00:20:46.301 --> 00:20:49.638
- Unified song.
- 00:20:49.638 --> 00:20:51.740
- Now, it's probably worth mentioning that not everybody in
- 00:20:51.807 --> 00:20:55.310
- America wanted to party down in a speakeasy listening to
- 00:20:55.310 --> 00:20:58.547
- Jazz music.
- 00:20:58.547 --> 00:20:59.915
- In the 1920's, around 30% of americans were still farmers.
- 00:20:59.915 --> 00:21:03.885
- Group: farming is our thing.
- 00:21:03.952 --> 00:21:05.787
- Cody: and these farmers didn't share in the economic boom.
- 00:21:05.854 --> 00:21:08.690
- They couldn't afford fancy cars or flapper dresses, but here's
- 00:21:08.690 --> 00:21:12.728
- The deal.
- 00:21:12.728 --> 00:21:14.096
- The rift went way deeper than just money.
- 00:21:14.096 --> 00:21:16.631
- The 1920's also exposed the beginning of a cultural tension
- 00:21:16.698 --> 00:21:20.435
- That we still feel in our nation today.
- 00:21:20.435 --> 00:21:23.205
- The popular culture expressed in radio, magazines, and silent
- 00:21:23.271 --> 00:21:27.075
- Movies just wasn't in sync with traditional american values.
- 00:21:27.075 --> 00:21:31.446
- The drinking, the dancing, the flapper girl, the greediest
- 00:21:31.513 --> 00:21:35.150
- Murderous gangster, the buy now pay later consumerism, the
- 00:21:35.150 --> 00:21:38.887
- Casual sex, the entire party scene just did not sit well with
- 00:21:38.887 --> 00:21:43.392
- America's traditional christian values, so what happened?
- 00:21:43.392 --> 00:21:48.663
- Well, an altogether different type of party started to emerge.
- 00:21:48.730 --> 00:21:53.735
- Attendance at christian colleges boomed.
- 00:21:56.304 --> 00:21:58.840
- Media savvy evangelists packed tent revivals, and if jazz could
- 00:21:58.840 --> 00:22:03.278
- Make it on the radio, well, then so could a good, old fashioned
- 00:22:03.278 --> 00:22:06.581
- Bible show.
- 00:22:06.581 --> 00:22:08.116
- Popular la preacher, aimee semple mcpherson, understood the
- 00:22:08.116 --> 00:22:11.920
- Power of media.
- 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:13.388
- She was the first woman to ever hold a radio license and she had
- 00:22:13.455 --> 00:22:17.659
- The second most popular radio show in all of los angeles.
- 00:22:17.659 --> 00:22:21.263
- So, take that, devil.
- 00:22:21.263 --> 00:22:23.598
- As the decade neared its end, the great american party started
- 00:22:26.334 --> 00:22:30.605
- To die down, but do you remember little wayne wheeler?
- 00:22:30.605 --> 00:22:35.377
- Well, this guy wasn't done pooping on america's party.
- 00:22:35.444 --> 00:22:38.480
- Get this, when booze became illegal, desperate drinkers
- 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:42.784
- Started refining industrial alcohol, the type of stuff that
- 00:22:42.784 --> 00:22:46.822
- You find in paints and perfumes.
- 00:22:46.822 --> 00:22:49.458
- So, the probies, under direction of wayne wheeler, started adding
- 00:22:49.458 --> 00:22:53.662
- Poison to this stuff.
- 00:22:53.662 --> 00:22:56.164
- Between 10,000 and 50,000 people actually died.
- 00:22:56.164 --> 00:23:00.635
- Male: this tastes funny.
- 00:23:01.436 --> 00:23:03.004
- Female: what?
- 00:23:03.004 --> 00:23:04.439
- Cody: and wayne's response?
- 00:23:04.439 --> 00:23:05.841
- Male: they deserved it.
- 00:23:05.841 --> 00:23:07.209
- Cody: the public began to turn on the anti saloon league, and
- 00:23:09.411 --> 00:23:12.681
- By 1933 the prohibition experiment was over and
- 00:23:12.681 --> 00:23:16.751
- Americans could legally drink again.
- 00:23:16.751 --> 00:23:18.320
- You didn't need speakeasies anymore, you could just go to
- 00:23:18.320 --> 00:23:22.190
- A regular bar.
- 00:23:22.190 --> 00:23:23.558
- During the roaring twenties,
- 00:23:24.493 --> 00:23:25.827
- The dow jones industrial average
- 00:23:25.827 --> 00:23:27.696
- Increased sixfold, our wealth
- 00:23:27.696 --> 00:23:30.432
- Doubled, and average americans
- 00:23:30.432 --> 00:23:32.200
- Could afford such luxuries as
- 00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:34.069
- Their own homes, cars, radios,
- 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:37.405
- And telephones, but on october 29th, 1929,
- 00:23:37.405 --> 00:23:43.512
- A day history remembers as black monday,
- 00:23:43.578 --> 00:23:46.715
- The party in the usa was officially over.
- 00:23:46.715 --> 00:23:49.918
- The stock market crashed hard.
- 00:23:49.918 --> 00:23:52.988
- After a decade of rowdy partying and overspending, america had a
- 00:23:52.988 --> 00:23:57.726
- Massive hangover.
- 00:23:57.726 --> 00:23:59.227
- America was depressed,
- 00:23:59.227 --> 00:24:01.296
- Quite literally.
- 00:24:01.296 --> 00:24:02.631
- The great depression was
- 00:24:02.631 --> 00:24:04.099
- The worst economic downturn
- 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:05.834
- In history.
- 00:24:05.834 --> 00:24:07.369
- By 1933, 15 million americans were unemployed and almost half
- 00:24:07.369 --> 00:24:12.707
- Of the country's banks had collapsed.
- 00:24:12.707 --> 00:24:15.010
- The financial crisis plunged countless families into poverty
- 00:24:15.076 --> 00:24:18.680
- And forced many into bread lines and soup kitchens just
- 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.616
- To survive.
- 00:24:21.616 --> 00:24:22.984
- This led to widespread homelessness with many people
- 00:24:22.984 --> 00:24:25.854
- Living in makeshift shanty towns, often referred to as
- 00:24:25.854 --> 00:24:29.090
- Hoovervilles, as they struggled to find shelter and
- 00:24:29.090 --> 00:24:32.394
- Bare necessities.
- 00:24:32.394 --> 00:24:34.329
- The 1920's were over, and so was the party in the usa, but by
- 00:24:34.396 --> 00:24:39.000
- 1933, at least americans could drink again.
- 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:42.337
- So, cheers to that.
- 00:24:42.337 --> 00:24:44.539
- We'll see you next week.
- 00:24:44.606 --> 00:24:46.675
- Male: ladies and gentlemen, a toast to the party in the usa.
- 00:24:46.741 --> 00:24:52.280
- ♪♪♪
- 00:24:52.614 --> 00:24:52.614