The prohibition, or “dry,” movement began in the 1840s, spearheaded by pietistic religious denominations, especially the Methodists. Introduction Prohibition In the United States (1920-1933) was the era during which the United States Constitution outlawed the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The term also includes the prohibition of alcohol by state action at different[…]
There were very serious matters at the heart of the debates surrounding the legislation that ushered in the period. Introduction Americans have long been in love with the Jazz Age, and who can blame us? The Great Gatsby. Al Capone. The Charleston. Louis Armstrong. Flappers. Speakeasies. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said, it was when the United States[…]
The era of Prohibition, which began in 1920 and ended in 1933, left many legacies – more modest drinking was not among them. Introduction On Jan. 17, 1920, one hundred years ago, America officially went dry. Prohibition, embodied in the U.S Constitution’s 18th amendment, banned the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. Yet it remained[…]
Prohibition evokes vivid images from fiction and history. Originally published by Newberry Digital Collections for the Classroom, Newberry Library, republished with permission for educational, non-commercial purposes. Introduction Prohibition evokes vivid images from fiction and history: wild parties from The Great Gatsby, the Valentine’s Day gangland murders in Chicago, or presidential candidate Herbert Hoover’s 1928 comment, when[…]
From PBR to the champagne of beers, Wisconsin brands made their mark. On a dark night in rural Wisconsin, Miller marketing guru A. C. Paul gets lost in the Northwoods. No doubt having sampled his own wares, he staggers through the wilderness, trying in vain to find his way out. Then a beautiful woman appears[…]
By Christopher Woolf In 2016, Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. Coolidge was known as Silent Cal, a dour New Englander; an old fashioned puritan and a dedicated enforcer of Prohibition. So what was he doing in fun-filled Havana? He had a two-fold mission: to[…]
Something needed to be done to mask the taste of bootleg alcohol that could include ingredients ranging from dead rats to wood tar. With America in the middle of a flourishing craft beer and craft spirits movement, it’s easy to forget that Prohibition was once the law of the land. One hundred years ago, on[…]