Oakley Owens 3

rd
Period
Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale SOAPStone
Claim with Textual Support Commentary
Speaker Frank Abagnale

The book is written as a
Behr seems incredibly biased against
Prohibition, looking past any intention
of good it may have had and heading
straight for the (admittedly obvious)
negativesOddly enough focusing solely
on the good in bootlegging heroes and
the corruption in the Harding
administration.
Occasion The Prohibition Era, its precursory
years, and its legacy; as well as the
myths surrounding them.

On January 16
th
, 1920, America
went dry. For the next thirteen
years, the Eighteenth amendment
prohibited the making, selling, or
transportation of intoxicating
liquors, heralding a new era of
crime and corruption on all levels of
society. Page 4.
The Jazz Age, as Ive always preferred to
call it, has always been my favorite point
in American history, but I never quite
understood the extent to which
corruption had spread throughout
America during those years. That this
book explains more than just the
eventful years it took place in, and also
addresses the years before and after,
helped me realize that this time period
was about a little bit more than good
times and jazz.
Audience People who wish to be informed
about an important era in American
history that is often romanticized.

Despite its almost risible collapse,
Prohibitions lessons are valuable
and have still not been learned by
many Page 5

Behr doesnt pull any punches about the
state of the government back then, but
also doesnt seem to be willing to
concede to any of the social
developments brought about by
Prohibitionthis can kind of alienate an
audience who came expecting to see
both sides of the era back-to-back.
Purpose To address the many things about
Prohibition that we as Americans
attempted to disregard at the time
of its downfall.

the political immorality in high
places that allowed the lawbreakers
to flourish and that marked the
1920s in other ways has been
largely ignored or forgotten. Page
91 - 92
This interests meare there any other
points in American history we
romanticize that have yet to be brought
to light? It gets you thinking.
Subject Government corruption and those
who profited off of it during the
prohibition.

Prohibition was part of a far larger
scandal the scandal of the Harding
presidency, and the corruption it so
easily bred. Page 105

The book could have been simply called
The Harding Administration and Its
many Failures, at some points, because
it seems like Behr almost enjoys
pointing out that Harding was a weak
man not bad, just indecisive and
clueless. Although it does put some
insight into HOW the bootleggers did
what they did, its a bit heavy on
attacking him and his cabinet in some
areas.
Oakley Owens 3
rd
Period
Tone Forthright

His [Hardings] ineptitude could not
possibly be ignored, even by political
allies out to praise him
posthumously. Page 106

Almost certainly a homosexual,
Smith left his mothers company
only once in his life Page 109

Not surprisingly, the Hardings sex
life didnt last long. Page 107
Behr certainly does have a penchant for
punching you in the face with a fistful of
frankness, then pretending to offer you
an ice pack for your eye, only to reveal
that it was an elaborate ploy to get close
to you in order to punch you again.
While it seems as though hes
completely apathetic to those who
behaved commendably, keeping
mention of them to a minimum, hes
more than willing to let you know how
he feels about those he finds inept or
devious.