Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2023/Fall/Section20/N. E. Ward

Biography

Early Life and Family

N. E. Ward was born in 1876; at the time of his interview, he lived in Spring Hope, North Carolina. His family lost their wealth in the Civil War and worked as farmhands. After completing ten years of education, Ward wed Emma Lucas, the farm owner's daughter, and together they had many children. Emma's father funded Ward's college education and helped him start a law firm.

A farmer digging an irrigation channel in 1936.

Career and Affairs

To distract from his unhappiness as a lawyer, Ward purchased a farm with the assistance of his father-in-law. Shortly after starting the farm, Ward began an affair with Caroline, the widowed daughter of one of his tenants. This extramarital relationship is the first in a series of long-term affairs Ward engaged in. Caroline and Ward’s affair lasted several years, until 1916 when Ward met Bessie, the wife of a tenant. In 1917, Ward was selected to draft men for World War I. Ward took advantage of his role by drafting Bessie's husband, Leonard, and starting an affair with Bessie in his absence. Two years later, Leonard returned from war unable to farm after being afflicted by poison gas. Ward built his wealth by entering a multitude of business ventures. When two of his investments went under, Ward sold many of his holdings, including his law firm. To recuperate from his losses, Ward started an illegal whiskey business with Leonard. Their whiskey trade was uncovered by the law, and Ward convinced Leonard to take the fall and serve time in prison. During this time, Ward continued to run his whiskey business and used Leonard’s incarceration to engage in an affair with Bessie. Upon his release, Leonard discovered Bessie and Ward’s relationship, leading to the end of their twelve-year affair. The liquor trade was uncovered by the law for the second time, and after relying on a friend to pay his bond, Ward moved away from his family to another town in the southeast, where he passed the bar exam and opened another law firm. On the weekends, Ward drove to Mexico and indulged in alcohol, prostitutes, and gambling. His law partner later left their small practice, closing their small firm and leaving Ward with little money. Ward chose to spend his remaining funds on one final night in Mexico.

Life in Spring Hope

After contemplating suicide, Ward ultimately decided to settle down and return home to his family. He collected money he was owed from various men and spent it to travel to North Carolina and buy a small farm. At the time of the interview, Ward was 63 years old, living and working on the farm with Emma and one of his sons. Once a week, he took a young widow to Raleigh for dinner and a movie. Ward knew this young woman was romantically involved with both him and his son.

Social Context

The Southern Post-Civil War Economy

In the aftermath of the Civil War, many wealthy, white families suffered economic losses. Large slave-owning families in the South lost 50 to 70 percent of their wealth. The abolition of slave labor caused Southern farm owners to institute sharecropping, “a type of farming in which families rent small plots of land from a landowner in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner at the end of each year”.

Effects of Poison Gas in World War I

In World War I, chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas were contained in grenades or artilery shells and used for attack on the battlefield. Poison gas resulted in nearly 100,000 deaths. World War I veterans who were exposed to poisonous gases were later hospitalized with "mustard-gas injury, severe influenza with pneumonia, or extremity wounds" and faced an increased risk of lung cancer.

Post-World War I Recession

At the end of World War I, economic production in the United States declined, and soldiers returning from Europe caused unemployment rates to skyrocket. This led to a seven-month recession in the years 1918 and 1919.

Prohibition

In 1919, the 18th Amendment was ratified in the U.S. Constitution, banning the “manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors”. As a result, the U.S. experienced a stark increase in organized crime. Initially, prohibition saw a significant decline in drunken arrests and alcohol-related illness; however, illegal alcohol consumption spiraled beyond the U.S. government's control after it was popularized by the upper class. Prohibition was difficult to enforce, therefore, illegal bars (commonly known as “speakeasies”) and alcohol production often ran undetected. The general dislike of prohibition, increased deaths from toxic, cheaply distilled alcohol, and the need for liquor industry jobs and revenue during the Great Depression led to the end of prohibition with the ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933.

Farmers in the Great Depression

In World War I, farms increased agricultural production to meet high wartime demands. Many Farmers borrowed money to capitalize on the agricultural boom and expand their farms. After the war ended, the demand and prices for farm products dropped leading an agricultural depression. The Great Depression intensified farmers' financial struggles when prices fell even further and rural banks began to close. Farmers lost all their lives' savings, and those who took out loans were cast into more severe debt. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 "paid farmers to reduce the number of acres they planted in crops such as tobacco, peanuts, and cotton". By limiting crop production, the federal government aimed to raise prices and improve the agricultural economy. The demands of World War II ended the Great Depression for farmers by widening the market for agricultural products.

Bibliography

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7. History.com Editors. “Prohibition: Years, Amendment and Definition.” HISTORY, October 29, 2009. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/prohibition.
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11. Arthur Rothstein, Fighting the drought and dust with irrigation, photograph, Library of Congress, April 1936.