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