Half Broke Horses
Issues and Violations
Timeline
1903- Wright brothers make first airplane flight
1917- US enters into WW1
1920- 19th amendment passed and women can vote
1920-1933- Prohibitionbanning alcohol selling, buying and consuming
1929- Great Depression
1941- US enters WW2
1947- Cold War
1954- Brown vs. Board of Education desegregates schools
First Connection with Half Broke Horses
The first connection with the book is in 1917 when the United States enters World War 1. This is significant since this is how Lily Casey gets her first job as a teacher. Since all the men are going of to war and all the women are going to work in the factories, there is a sudden drainage of teachers, and even though Lily isn’t qualified, they’re desperate to find people to fill the vacant spots. It’s also significant because when the war ends (in 1918), Lily loses her job due to all the veterans and women returning to their prior positions.
Second Connection with Half Broke Horses
The second connection is Prohibition (from 1920-33) and the Great Depression (1929-41). This effected Lily since during the Great Depression her and Jim started to suffer financial problems since not as many people were buying cars and therefore didn’t need gas and repairs which was Jim’s whole business. To make a little money on the side, Lily and Jim started selling alcohol out of their backyard illegally. After a close call with the authorities, they decided to stop and were kicked out of their house within the next 6 months.
Third Connection with Half Broke Horses
The final connection is between the Wright brothers successfully flying their airplane for the first time in 1903 and Lily’s fascination with airplanes. True, Lily was only 2 years old when the first airplane flew, but throughout the book we see Lily’s growing interest in the flying machines. It begins when she’s traveling home after “getting the boot” from her first teaching job. She’s completely entranced when she sees an airplane fly over head and knows that she needs to look further into the future. Then, when Jim teaches her how to drive a car, she wonders if it’s a possibility that she could learn to fly an airplane. Finally, she learns how when she´s out driving with her family and sees the opportunity and takes it.
Laws and Regulations
(Part 1)
Prohibition (1920-33)= It prohibited the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors. It initially began during World War 1 when Woodrow Wilson wanted to save the grain for actual food. It was later made in to the 18th amendment to the Constitution and was repealed by the 21st amendment. The National Prohibition Act, now known as the Volstead Act, was passed by Congress in 1919 to set guidelines for federal enforcement of prohibition. It ended due to many people being arrested for drinking and dissolving support.
Laws and Regulations (Part 2)
19th amendment (1920)= After the Seneca Falls Convention organised by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, women’s right to
vote became the forefront issue in the women’s rights movement, along with equal education and employment opportunities. A
group of women later wrote the Declaration of Sentiments that was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and spoke specifically to the right of women to have a vote. Many suffrage groups came together
to go around and get states to individually give women the right to vote. All of this combined with multiple protests won women the right to vote.
Laws and Regulations (Part 3)
Brown vs. the Board of Education (1954)= Segregation in schools between white and african-americans had started multiple disagreements in the past but none had been as big or as successful as Brown going up against the Board of Education of Topeka. Brown argued that having segregated schools caused african-americans to have a lower quality of education than white people and that was in violation of the 14th amendment stating that all citizens have the right to equal opportunities. It challenged the belief that “separate but equal” actually existed. In the end, schools were seen as unequal and were put down the long path to ending segregation within schools.
Works Cited
Dreier, Peter. “Who and What Changed America? A 20th Century Timeline.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 June 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/150-moments-that-changed-_b_7513366.html.
History.com Staff. “Prohibition.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/prohibition.
History.com Staff. “19th Amendment.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment.