Ken Burns: Civility and Democracy
Ken Burns discusses civility and democracy at the National Constitution Center.
Ken Burns: The Prohibition Idea
Ken Burns discusses Episode One of Prohibition, and what the United States was going through during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Clip: Episode 1 | Intro
During the 1800's with the rise of whiskey and other hard liquors, alcoholism was a big problem.
The Gender Barrier is Broken
Prohibition led in a sexual revolution for women. Drinking at speakeasies, mixing more with men, flappers broke from the repression of their suffragette mothers' time.
Terribly Wonderful
Beer and Whiskey were not the Saloons only attraction to men, it served as a haven of manhood. Most cities had a designated district for saloons.
Whispering Wires
Roy Olmstead is caught in a wiretap and sentenced to four years hard labor. His convicition is upheld by the Supreme Court, but Olmstead receives a pardon in 1935.
Drinking More
Millions of Americans stopped drinking during Prohibition, but those that did drink, women as well as men, drank more.
Extended Look | The Eighteenth Amendment
Prohibition, from Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, explores the rise and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment.
Fiorella LaGuardia
Fiorella LaGuardia was a Republican Congressman of New York and critic of the Volstead Act.
The Good Bootlegger
Roy Olmstead, a Seattle police officer turned to bootlegging and was known to provide the best product on the west coast. He used bribery instead of violence, and was known as 'The Good Bootlegger.'
Lois Long
Lois Long, pen-name 'Lipstick,' wrote about speakeasies for the New Yorker. Women who could not afford to live the decadent lifestyle got to read about her exploits.
Mabel Walker Willebrandt
Mabel Walker Willebrandt was the Asst. Attorney Gen. and in charge of the Prohibition enforcement policy.
Neal Dow
Wealthy Mayor of Portland, ME. In 1851 he demanded the state legislature ban the sale of alcohol.
George Remus The Primrose Path
George Remus, King of the Bootleggers, is caught by the government, then put on trial for murdering his wife.
Absolute Shall
The problem of drink would have to be overcome through legislation rather than voluntary abstinence.
Satan's Seat (NYC)
New York was the city with the most illegal speakeasies, and the toughest city to crack down on drinking.
Retribution
The Anti Saloon League successfully combined propaganda, religion and political coercion to make alcohol a wedge issue in elections.
The Roots of Prohibition
A review of alcohol's influence in America. Beer and Wine are overtaken by hard liquors.
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