The Phenix City Story

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Phenix City in Russell County, Alabama, otherwise known as "Sin City, USA." The paper discusses the history of illegal activity in Phenix City and how the city became a haven for criminals. The paper then goes on to describe the efforts to clean up Phenix City and how its image has begun to evolve over time. The paper concludes by discussing the name of the city, "Phenix."

Table of Contents:
I. A.K.A.
"Once Known as "Sin City"
II. Commonplace Sins
A Haven for Hellish Activities?
Cleaning Up Phenix City
III. The name, "Phenix"
Excuses and Reasons

From the Paper:

"Hugh Bentley, a layman, decided to try to fire the churches into action against the sin and criminal activity in 1946. Bentley stressed that Phenix City's problem was a moral one and that until the moral breakdown was changed, things would not improve. January 9, 1951, Bentley's house was blown up with thirty-six sticks of dynamite, however, neither he nor any of his family was seriously injured."
"In 1954, Albert Patterson, a sixty-year-old Phenix City lawyer, adopted his campaign crusade to be cleaning Phenix City's gambling machine. At this time, Phenix City was described by Life Magazine as the "wickedest city in the United States, . . . everything from gambling to murder to arson to fraud." (Ibid.) June 1, 1954, Patterson won the Democratic primary."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bible: Hebrew Ecclesiastes, 7:1. The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. 24 November 2006. http://www.bartleby.com/66/1/501.html.
• Brasher, Bryan. "Barber: City needs new name: Man circulating petition; says area could be called Coweta Rapids", Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, April 14, 2005.
• "Could This Be Your Town?"(1994). 25 November 2006. http://www.alabamaeagle.org/gambling/could_this_be_your_town.htm.
• Carroll, Sydney. and Robert Rossen.. (1961). Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996. 25 November 2006. http://www.bartleby.com/66/82/10582.html.
• Littlejohn, David, ed. The Real Las Vegas: Life beyond the Strip. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

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