The 1920s Government, Politics, and Law: Headline Makers

Alphonse "Al" Capone (1899–1947) Alphonse "Al" Capone was the most notorious gangster of the Prohibition era. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Capone moved to Chicago in 1915. By murdering the competition, he rose through the gangland's organization to assume control. A racketeer and bootlegger (producer and distributor of illegal intoxicating liquors), Capone amassed a fortune estimated in 1929 at $50 million. His most infamous crime was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of February 14, 1929, a bloody assassination of a rival gang at a Chicago garage.

Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933) Republican Calvin Coolidge rose to the presidency upon the death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Upon taking office, Coolidge distanced himself from Harding and cleaned up the scandals which had involved members of the previous administration. Nicknamed "Silent Cal," Coolidge lacked vision and leadership skills. Still, he was elected to a full term in 1924. A supporter of big business and high tariffs, Coolidge kept taxes low and restricted immigration. Choosing to run a government of nonintervention, Coolidge implied the source of leadership should come from industry when he declared, "The business of America is business."

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) Clarence Darrow was one of the most renowned and effective trial lawyers of the early twentieth century. He often chose to defend the underdog against powerful opponents. Early in the century, he took the side of union organizers against big business. During World War I, Darrow defended antiwar dissidents accused of violating sedition laws. His most publicized cases include the Leopold and Loeb murder trial, Scopes's teaching of evolution, and the African American Sweet family's defense for firing guns into a white mob that was storming their home.

Warren G. Harding (1865–1923) With his landslide election to the U.S. presidency in 1920, Ohio Republican Warren G. Harding ushered in a spirit of laissez-faire politics, a doctrine which downplayed government intervention in economic matters. His administration popularized the term "normalcy." Harding's policies promoted an expansion of American business, and among his advisers were top businessmen. Harding was a charismatic man whose sudden death on August 2, 1923 during a transcontinental lecture tour cast a pall over the nation.

Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) For most of the 1920s, Herbert Hoover served as secretary of commerce, first in the Harding and later in the Coolidge administration. He successfully promoted cooperation between government and big business, balancing a laissez-faire approach with humanitarian values. Hoover began his single term as president in 1929. When the stock market crashed ten months into his term, he unwisely chose a policy of self-help to resolve the problems of the economy. This choice led to much woe during the Great Depression of the 1930s. To his shame, the makeshift Depression-era cities of shacks in which the homeless lived were nicknamed "Hoovervilles."

Robert M. La Follette (1855–1925) Reform-minded politician Robert La Follette went from the Wisconsin governor's mansion to become U.S. senator from 1906 until his death in 1925. A member of the progressive wing of the Republican Party, La Follette opposed big business interests and other policies that improved the lot of the privileged classes. He opposed child labor, and he attempted to unite agricultural interests with organized labor. La Follette contested America's entry into World War I and the postwar plan for a League of Nations. He became a third-party candidate for president in 1924, representing the Progressive Party. Many of the reforms for which he fought were enacted as laws after his death.

Andrew W. Mellon (1855–1937) Pittsburgh-based financier and industrialist Andrew W. Mellon served as secretary of the treasury during three presidential administrations, from 1921 to 1931. In this role, he used his outstanding business acumen to reduce the national debt by approximately $9 billion. Advocating economy in federal spending, Mellon used his high-level commercial connections to keep communications flowing between big business and the government. A multimillionaire with a philanthropic bent, he founded the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research and donated his renowned art collection to form the foundation of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Alfred E. Smith (1873–1944) Alfred E. Smith was raised in poverty on New York City's Lower East Side and attained only an eighth-grade formal education. He joined New York City's Democratic Party, and eventually he was elected representative to the state assembly. He then served two terms as governor of New York starting in 1918. Throughout his career, Smith worked to improve lifestyles of working-class people by regulating labor conditions and workers' compensation, developing low-cost housing and a parks and recreation system, and assuring civil liberties. An Irish Catholic, Smith became a controversial, and ultimately unsuccessful, presidential candidate in 1928.