Synopses & Reviews
Americans who have become dismayed at cartoonish spectacles in our courtrooms throughout the '90s will find this book on trials of the Roaring Twenties provocative. Important issues were at stake, lawyers were gladiators, and, as we entered the modern age, the winners of these combats determined the cultural and ethical heritage of our nation.
This book provides in-depth examination of 10 trials, covering nearly every facet of American life: sports in the "Black Sox", Hollywood in Fatty Arbuckle, the mob in Al Capone, political corruption in Teapot Dome, religion in the Scopes Trial, and the trial of David Stephenson, which broke the back of the KKK in Indiana.
Each case is a fascinating story, vividly described, and the fierce jousts in these courtrooms impart both how different things once were, and how much the nature of American legal drama has remained surprisingly the same.
Synopsis
"1920s America was at peace at home and abroad but issues facing the nation were highlighted by a series of trials including baseball's Black Sox, Al Capone, John T. Scopes, Sacco and Vanzetti, Leopold"
Synopsis
1920s America was at peace at home and abroad but issues facing the nation were highlighted by a series of trials including baseball's Black Sox, Al Capone, John T. Scopes, Sacco and Vanzetti, Leopold and Loeb, and the court martial of Billy Mitchell. Americans will find this book on trials of the Roaring Twenties” provocative. Great Trials begins with an extensive introduction describing the setting” of that tumultuous decade, and follows with an in-depth examination of 10 trials, touching on nearly every facet of American life. Each case is a fascinating story, and the fierce jousts in these courtrooms impart to the reader both how different things once were, and how much the nature of argumentative individuals has remained exactly the same.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 275-277) and index.
Table of Contents
Sacco and Vanzetti -- The Chicago "Black Sox" -- The trials of "Fatty" Arbuckle -- The People vs. Al Capone -- David C. Stephenson -- The Scopes trial -- Loeb-Leopold -- Teapot Dome -- The case of Samuel Insull -- The court martial of Billy Mitchell.