Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section059/Stonewall Dexter

Biography:
Stonewall Dexter was born the son of Clumpin’ Billy Dexter in the late 1890’s in Rowan County, North Carolina. He was the oldest of his three brothers: Jefferson, Julius, and Napoleon. Dexter is named after prominent war general Stonewall Jackson. Stonewall’s mother, who was unnamed in his interview, passed away after giving birth to youngest brother Napoleon. Stonewall was widely regarded as the most intelligent brother from a young age, and his father was very adamant he stay in school because of this intellect. After graduating high school, Dexter went on to receive his undergraduate degree and then his law degree. He opened up his own practice in Downtown Salisbury in his late twenties, and had a slow start due to the times of economic downturn. However, due to his impressive work ethic and skills in the court room, Dexter went on to become one of the most prominent lawyers in the area. Many said that Stonewall could win in the court room no matter what cards he was dealt, and this led him to become very wealthy. In his mid-thirties, Stonewall married the late daughter of financial and political baron Samuel King, Emily. They never had success with having a child, but were still very wealthy and prominent in the community. Dexter used this prominence to express his opinions on Prohibition, where he supported the “Dry” Movement. Dexter was regarded as the most well-known and successful lawyer in Salisbury at the time by the end of his career. However, he dreamed of becoming a judge in the court but never reached this title.

Prohibition in the 1920’s
Prohibition laws was first put into place in the United States in January of 1920, when the production and sale of alcohol was banned nationwide. This divided the country significantly, as large ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ protest groups formed, with the latter protesting the new set of laws. Alcohol was, at this time, traditionally consumed by more men than women. Views on the consumption of alcohol also varied widely between geographic regions. “Individuals who vowed for a dry United States were viewed more positively in rural, commonly religious areas located along the Bible Belt and Amish Pennsylvania”. When women gained the right to vote in August of 1920, many sided with the ‘dry’ groups. Women were often seen as the main staple in keeping Prohibition laws in place through 1933 when the buying and selling of alcohol was again legalized.

The Court of Law during the Great Depression
The Court of Law is often regarded as one of the few constants in America throughout the Great Depression era. Along with government workers and doctors, these essential employees were more fortunate than most throughout this time period. “But for other the Depression was simply an inconvenience, particularly to careers such as doctors and lawyers who were essential.”. Public attorneys and judges suffered as a lack of funding in the government systems was present at both the state and national levels, but were still secured positions that were better off than the average citizen. Private attorneys were impacted in varied levels throughout the monstrosity of the Great Depression. Some were still extremely successful, while others were forced to leave their hard-earned positions in search of other work. Attorneys that stayed in business, however, saw little to no competition and many became unexpectedly wealthy. “I believe it can be truly said that the man who has money during this depression to invest in the highest grade investment stocks and can hold on for 2 or 3 years will be the rich man of 1935.”. These individuals became the millionaires of the post-Depression era, as many bought up land and other wealth when it was extremely cheap at the heart of the Depression.

The Great Depression in the Rural South
The Great Depression hit small, already poor towns extremely hard during this time of economic turmoil and widespread unemployment. Small, already fragile local economies were especially susceptible to these things, and unemployment skyrocketed. Agricultural based towns dried up physically and economically. This led many to rebel against current president Herbert Hoover, and petition for change. “As such, they gave evidence of the extent and the limits of popular willingness to challenge the nation’s economic and political system”. In 1932, Hoover was voted out and Franklin Roosevelt assumed office. Under the Roosevelt Administration, the federal government stepped in and aided these rural areas in the rebuilding process. “Wright found that the New Deal consistently gave large grants to agricultural states where jobs were scarce and low incomes were very frequent”. Unemployment rates dropped by the creation of public works projects and economic grants, and systems were put into place to aid the less fortunate.