Description

From 1920 to 1933, the United States seemed to achieve the impossible: the federal government amended the Constitution to turn the US "dry." The so-called 'Noble Experiment,' better known as Prohibition, did little to dampen the spirit of the Roaring 20s... It also did little to stop people from drinking. For this raucous thirteen-year period, the US was overtaken by illicit liquor, expanding criminal organizations, and an unprecedented growth of federal power. Whiskey prescriptions, infamous gangsters, a federal poisoning program, and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre are all covered this week - tune in and let's raise a glass to this unforgettable era in alcohol history.

Primary Sources:

“Jurors Go on Trial, Drank Up Evidence; Los Angeles Judge Summons Nine for Discharge from Service,” New York Times (January 7, 1928). 

“Moe Smith, Revenue A gent, Dies; Scourge of Prohibition Violators; Worked With Partner, as Izzy and Moe, to Arrest 4,000u Exploits Amused Many,” New York Times (Dec. 16, 1960).

Charles Norris, “Our Essay in Extermination,” The North American Review (1928). 

"I've Got the Prohibition Blues," by Carl Zerse (1919), performed by Fred Field and James Pitt-Payne.

Secondary Sources:

Daniel A. Laliberte, “The Real McCoy,” Naval History (February 2020). 

Michael Lerner, Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City (2008). 

Lisa McGirr, The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the Rise of the American State (2015). 

Daniel Okrent, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition (2011). 

W. J. Rorabaugh, Prohibition : A Concise History, Oxford University Press, 2018.

Christine Sismondo, America Walks into a Bar: a Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies, and Grog Shops (2011). 

Karen Taborn, Walking Harlem: the Ultimate Guide to the Cultural Capital of Black America (2018).

Mark Thornton, “Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 157: Alcohol Prohibition was a Failure” Cato Institute (July 17, 1991). 

Prohibition: An Interactive History, an online exhibit by The Mob Museum (further information and online exhibits are available at themobmuseum.org)

Written and recorded by: Kenyon Payne

Theme music: "Southern Gothic" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Outro music: “D´vil,” anrocomposer

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