Prohibition in the United States

Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a clandestine underground brewery during the Prohibition era

Prohibition in the United States, also known as The Noble Experiment, was the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption were banned nationally^[1] as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Under substantial pressure from the temperance movement, the United States Senate proposed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 18, 1917. Having been approved by 36 states, the 18th Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919 and effected on January 16, 1920. Some state legislatures had already enacted statewide prohibition prior to the ratification of the 18th Amendment.

The "Volstead Act", the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, passed through Congress over President Woodrow Wilson's veto on October 28, 1919 and established the legal definition of intoxicating liquor.^[2] Though the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, it did little to enforce the law. By 1925, in New York City alone, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs.^[3]

While Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, it tended to destroy society by other means, as it stimulated the proliferation of rampant underground, organized, and widespread criminal activity.^[4]

Prohibition became increasingly unpopular during the Great Depression, especially in large cities. The bulk of America became disenchanted after the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in 1929. Until then, they felt that, even with setbacks, Prohibition was working.

On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of certain kinds of alcoholic beverages.

On December 5, 1933, the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.

History

Origins

The Drunkard's Progress: A lithograph by Nathaniel Currier supporting the temperance movement, January 1846

In May of 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts made illegal the sale of strong liquor “whether known by the name of rumme, strong water, wine, brandy, etc.”^[5]

In general, informal social controls in the home and community helped maintain the expectation that the abuse of alcohol was unacceptable. "Drunkenness was condemned and punished, but only as an abuse of a God-given gift. Drink itself was not looked upon as culpable, any more than food deserved blame for the sin of gluttony. Excess was a personal indiscretion."^[6] When informal controls failed, there were always legal ones.

One of the foremost physicians of the late 18th century, Benjamin Rush, argued in 1784 that the excessive use of alcohol was injurious to physical and psychological health (he believed in moderation rather than prohibition). Apparently influenced by Rush's widely discussed belief, about 200 farmers in a Connecticut community formed a temperance association in 1789. Similar associations were formed in Virginia in 1800 and New York in 1808. Within the next decade, other temperance organizations were formed in eight states, some being statewide organizations.

In 1830, the average American consumed 1.7 bottles of hard liquor per week, three times the amount currently consumed in 2010.^[7]

Development of the Prohibition movement

The prohibition, or "dry", movement began in the 1840s, spearheaded by pietistic religious denominations, especially the Methodists. The late 1800s saw the temperance movement broaden its focus from abstinence to all behavior and institutions related to alcohol consumption. Preachers such as Reverend Mark A. Matthews linked liquor-dispensing saloons with prostitution.

"Who does not love wine wife and song, will be a fool for his lifelong!" — a vigorous 1873 assertion of cultural values of German-American immigrants.

Some successes were registered in the 1850s, including Maine's total ban on the manufacture and sale of liquor, adopted in 1851 (and repealed effective 1856). However, the movement soon lost strength, and was marginalized during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

The issue was revived by the Prohibition Party, founded in 1869, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1873. Despite its name, the latter group did not promote moderation or temperance but rather prohibition of alcohol. One of its methods to achieve that goal was education. It was believed that if it could "get to the children" it could create a "dry" sentiment leading to prohibition. (Supporters of prohibition were nicknamed "Dry"; opponents were called "Wet".)

In 1881, Kansas became the first state to outlaw alcoholic beverages in its Constitution, with Carrie Nation gaining notoriety for enforcing the provision herself by walking into saloons, scolding customers, and using her hatchet to destroy bottles of liquor. Nation recruited ladies as The Carry Nation Prohibition Group, which Nation also led. Other activists enforced the cause by entering saloons, singing, praying, and urging saloon keepers to stop selling alcohol.^[8] Many other states, especially in the South, also enacted prohibition, along with many individual counties.

In the Progressive Era (1890–1920), hostility to saloons and their political influence became widespread, with the Anti-Saloon League superseding the Prohibition Party and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as the most influential advocate of prohibition.

Prohibition was an important force in state and local politics from the 1840s through the 1930s. The political forces involved were ethnoreligious in character, as demonstrated by numerous historical studies.^[9] Prohibition was demanded by the "dries" — primarily pietistic Protestant denominations, especially the Methodists, Northern Baptists, Southern Baptists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Congregationalists, Quakers, and Scandinavian Lutherans. They identified saloons as politically corrupt and drinking as a personal sin. They were opposed by the "wets" — primarily liturgical Protestants (Episcopalians, German Lutherans) and Roman Catholics, who denounced the idea that the government should define morality.^[10] Even in the wet stronghold of New York City there was an active prohibition movement, led by Norwegian church groups and African-American labor activists who believed that Prohibition would benefit workers, especially African-Americans. Tea merchants and soda fountain manufacturers generally supported Prohibition, thinking a ban on alcohol would increase sales of their products.^[11]

In the 1916 presidential election, both Democratic incumbent Woodrow Wilson and Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes ignored the Prohibition issue, as was the case with both parties' political platforms. Democrats and Republicans had strong wet and dry factions, and the election was expected to be close, with neither candidate wanting to alienate any part of his political base.

In January 1917, the 65th Congress convened, in which the dries outnumbered the wets by 140 to 64 in the Democratic party and 138 to 62 among Republicans. With America's declaration of war against Germany in April, German-Americans—a major force against prohibition—were widely discredited and their protests subsequently ignored.

The Defender Of The 18th Amendment. From Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty published by the Pillar of Fire Church

A resolution calling for an amendment to accomplish nationwide Prohibition was introduced in Congress and passed by both houses in December 1917. On January 16, 1919, the Amendment was ratified by thirty-six of the forty-eight states. On October 28, 1919, the amendment was implemented by the Volstead Act. Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police) were given the task of enforcing the law.

Although it was highly controversial, Prohibition was widely supported by diverse groups. Progressives believed that it would improve society as generally did women, southerners, those living in rural areas and African-Americans. There were a few exceptions such as the Woman’s Organization for Prohibition Reform who fought against it. Will Rogers often joked about the southern pro-prohibitionists: "The South is dry and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough to stagger to the polls." Supporters of the Amendment soon became quite confident that it would not be repealed, to the point that one of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard, joked that "there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail."^[12]

At the same time, songs emerged decrying the act; after Edward, Prince of Wales, returned to the United Kingdom following his 1919 tour of Canada, he recounted to his father, King George V, a ditty he'd heard at a border town:

The issue of Prohibition became a highly controversial one among medical professionals, because alcohol was widely prescribed by physicians of the era for therapeutic purposes. Congress held hearings on the medicinal value of beer in 1921. Subsequently, physicians across the country lobbied for the repeal of Prohibition as it applied to medicinal liquors.^[14]

While the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol was illegal in the U.S., Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed the making at home of wine and cider from fruit (but not beer). Up to 200 gallons per year could be made, and some vineyards grew grapes for home use. Also, one anomaly of the Act as worded was that it did not actually prohibit the consumption of alcohol; many people actually stockpiled wines and liquors for their own use in the latter part of 1919 before sales of alcohol became illegal the following January.

Alcoholic drinks were not always illegal in all neighboring countries. Distilleries and breweries in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean flourished as their products were either consumed by visiting Americans or illegally imported to the U.S. The Detroit River, which forms part of the border with Canada, was notoriously difficult to control. Chicago became a haven for Prohibition dodgers during the time known as the Roaring Twenties. Many of Chicago's most notorious gangsters, including Al Capone and his enemy Bugs Moran, made millions of dollars through illegal alcohol sales. By the end of the decade Capone controlled all 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago and ruled the bootlegging business from Canada to Florida. Numerous other crimes, including theft and murder, were directly linked to criminal activities in Chicago and elsewhere in violation of prohibition.

Policeman with wrecked automobile and confiscated moonshine, 1922

Repeal

As Prohibition became increasingly unpopular, especially in the big cities, "Repeal" was eagerly anticipated. On March 23, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the Cullen-Harrison Act, allowing the manufacture and sale of "3.2 beer" (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines. The original Volstead Act had defined "intoxicating beverage" as one with greater than 0.5% alcohol.^[2] Upon signing the amendment, Roosevelt made his famous remark; "I think this would be a good time for a beer."^[15] The Cullen-Harrison Act became law on April 7, 1933, and on April 8, 1933, Anheuser-Busch, inc. sent a team of Clydesdale horses to deliver a case of Budweiser to the White House. The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 with ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment. Despite the efforts of Heber J. Grant and the LDS Church, a Utah convention helped ratify the 21st Amendment.^[16] While Utah can be considered the deciding 36th state to ratify the Amendment and make it law, the day Utah passed the Amendment, both Pennsylvania and Ohio passed it as well.

Prohibition was a major blow for the alcohol industry and repeal was therefore a step towards the amelioration of one sector of the economy. A perfect example for this is the case of St Louis. The city had been one of the most important alcohol producers before prohibition started and was ready to take back its position as soon as possible. Its major brewery had "50,000 barrels" of beer ready to be sent in the cities since March 22. It was the first alcohol producer to refill the market but others followed. This slowly allowed stores to obtain alcohol after of course having obtained a license. The restart of beer production allowed thousands of workers to find a job again.^[17]

Prohibition created a black market that competed with the formal economy, which already was under pressure. Roosevelt was elected based on the New Deal, which promised improvement to the economy that was only possible if the formal economy competed successfully against various economic forces, including the effects of prohibition's black market. This influenced his support for ratifying the 21st amendment, which repealed the 18th amendment that had established prohibition.^[18]

The Twenty-first Amendment explicitly gives States the right to restrict or ban the purchase or sale of alcohol. This led to a patchwork of laws in which alcohol may be legally sold in some but not all towns or counties within a particular state. After repeal of the 18th amendment, some states continued to enforce prohibition laws. Mississippi, which had made alcohol illegal in 1907, was the last state to repeal Prohibition, in 1966. Kansas did not allow sale of liquor "by the drink" (on-premises) until 1987. To the present day, there are still numerous "dry" counties and towns in America that restrict or prohibit liquor sales. Additionally, many tribal governments prohibit alcohol on Indian reservations. Federal law also prohibits alcohol on Indian reservations^[19], although this law is currently only enforced if there is a concomitant violation of local tribal liquor laws. The federal law prohibiting alcohol in Indian country pre-dates the Eighteenth Amendment. No constitutional changes were necessary prior to the passage of this law, as Indian Reservations and federal territories have always been considered areas of direct federal jurisdiction.

Society

Many social problems have been attributed to the Prohibition era. Mafia groups limited their activities to gambling and theft until 1920, when organized bootlegging manifested in response to the effect of Prohibition.^[20] A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Powerful gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies, leading to racketeering. Stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle.

To prevent bootleggers from using industrial ethyl alcohol to produce illegal beverages, the government ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols. In response, bootleggers hired chemists who successfully renatured the alcohol to make it drinkable. As a response, the Treasury Department required manufacturers to add more deadly poisons, including the particularly deadly methyl alcohol. New York City medical examiners prominently opposed these policies because of the danger to human life. As many as 10,000 people died from drinking denatured alcohol before Prohibition ended.^[21]

Making alcohol at home was very common during Prohibition. Stores sold grape concentrate with warning labels that listed the steps that should be avoided to prevent the juice from fermenting into wine. Home-distilled hard liquor was referred to as “bathtub gin” in northern cities, and moonshine in the rural areas of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. These individuals transported the alcohol to eager customers in other towns and cities. Since selling privately distilled alcohol was illegal and bypassed taxation by the government, the law relentlessly pursued these individuals.^[22] In response, the bootleggers in southern states started creating their own souped-up, stock-looking cars by enhancing their cars’ engines and suspensions to have a faster vehicle. Having a faster vehicle during Prohibition, they presumed, would improve their chances of outrunning and escaping agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), commonly called "revenue agents' or "revenooers". These cars became known as “moonshine runners” or "'shine runners".^[23]

Prohibition also had a large effect on the music industry in the United States, specifically the jazz. Speakeasies became far more popular during that time and the effects of the Great Depression caused a migration that led to a greater dispersal of jazz music. Movement began from New Orleans and went through Chicago and north to New York. This also meant developing different styles in the different cities. Because of its popularity in speakeasies and the development of more advanced recording devices, jazz became very popular very fast. It was also at the forefront of the minimal integration efforts going on at the time, as it united mostly black musicians with mostly white crowds.^[24]

The cost of enforcing Prohibition was high, and the lack of tax revenues on alcohol (some $500 million annually nationwide) affected government coffers.

When repeal of Prohibition occurred in 1933, organized crime lost nearly all of its black market alcohol profits in most states (states still had the right to enforce their own laws concerning alcohol consumption) because of competition with low-priced alcohol sales at legal liquor stores.

Prohibition had a notable effect on the alcohol brewing industry in the United States. When Prohibition ended, only half the breweries that previously existed reopened. The post-Prohibition period saw the introduction of the American lager style of beer, which dominates today. Wine historians also note Prohibition destroyed what was a fledgling wine industry in the United States. Productive wine quality grape vines were replaced by lower quality vines growing thicker skinned grapes that could be more easily transported. Much of the institutional knowledge was also lost as winemakers either emigrated to other wine producing countries or left the business altogether.^[25]

At the end of Prohibition, some supporters openly admitted its failure. A quote from a letter, written in 1932 by wealthy industrialist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., states:

When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime has increased to a level never seen before.^[26]

Some historians have commented that the alcohol industry accepted stronger regulation of alcohol in the decades after repeal, as a way to reduce the chance that Prohibition would return.^[27]

Winemaking during Prohibition

During Prohibition, large numbers of people began making their own alcoholic beverages at home. To do so, they often used bricks of wine, sometimes called blocks of wine.^[28] To meet the booming demand for grape juice, California grape growers increased their area about 700% in the first five years of prohibition. The juice was commonly sold as "bricks or blocks of Rhine Wine," "blocks of port," and so on along with a warning: "After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine."^[29] One grape block producer sold nine varieties: Port, Virginia Dare, Muscatel, Angelica, Tokay, Sauterne, Riesling, Claret and Burgundy.

Portrayal in media

Literature

• In F. Scott Fitzgerald's book The Great Gatsby, Tom Buchanan suspects Jay Gatsby of making money by illegally selling alcohol.
• In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, he tells of his stint working for a moonshiner on Long Island.
• In Sinclair Lewis's Babbitt, the title character prides himself as a progressive who supports Prohibition, but does not follow it and drinks moderately.
• D.J. MacHale's novel The Never War refers to Maximillian Rose, a gangster, who made millions by selling alcohol during Prohibition.
• Many of Dashiell Hammett's works (which occur between 1923–1934) contain casual references to the prohibition of alcohol. Hammett's detectives often come up against men who are, or have connections to, bootleggers of some form or another, and there are very few (if any) characters in Hammett's fiction that do not drink or purchase alcohol, in spite of Prohibition.
• Nelson Algren's novel A Walk on the Wild Side is set during the period of prohibition and much of it is set in speakeasies.
• The Japanese light novel known as Baccano! took place in the Prohibition era of the United States when an immortality elixir was mistaken for alcohol, sparking an uncontrollable chain of events.

Film

• The 1930 film Blotto starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy was made during the Prohibition Era and includes a Prohibition Theme.
• The 1930 science fiction comedy, Just Imagine, depicted a 1980s America with Prohibition still in effect.
• The 1932 film Scarface was originally about a fictionalized Al Capone during the prohibition era, and his downfall.
• The 1932 film Horse Feathers starring the Marx Brothers includes a famous sequence set in a speakeasy.
• The 1939 film The Roaring Twenties, released in 1939 - one of only three films to feature both James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
• The 1946 The Three Stooges short Beer Barrel Polecats.
• The 1948 film Call Northside 777 starring James Stewart investigating murder of Police Inspector Blundy on 9 December 1932 during Prohibition.
• The 1959 film Some Like it Hot starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, was set during the Prohibition Era.
• The 1973 film Paper Moon.
• The 1974 film Godfather II featured a conversation between Hymen Roth and Michael Corleone concerning the profits realized by Roth selling illegal alcohol during the Prohibition Era.
• The 1976 film Bugsy Malone featured a speakeasy run by local mobster Fat Sam, and hidden behind a bookstore.
• The 1987 film The Untouchables chronicled the prohibition period, and the efforts of Chicago law enforcement during that period.
• The 1984 film Once Upon a Time in America also depicted prohibition.
• The 1990 film Miller's Crossing takes place during the prohibition era, with the Chicago City Gangs selling illegal alcohol to the public.
• The 1991 film Mobsters starring Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey, based on the life of Charles "Lucky" Luciano during the Prohibition era.
• The 1994 film Legends of the Fall. The sweep of politics from the Indian Wars, through World-War I and prohibition forms the basis of Legends of the Fall , which also comments on the effects of Prohibition on the influence in politics and corruption in law enforcement during that period.
• The 1997 film Hoodlum starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth and Vanessa L. Williams is set in Harlem, New York City during the Prohibition era.
• The 2002 film Road to Perdition portrays the life of a gangster hit-man, Michael Sullivan, during the Prohibition Era.
• The 2002 film A Walk to Remember performs a stage play about a man named Tom Thorton (set in a speakeasy) during the Prohibition Era.
• The 2003 film Seabiscuit
• The 2008 film Leatherheads featured characters entering a speakeasy, which was subsequently raided.

Television

• One episode of the science-fiction program Sliders involved the sliders landing on an Earth where Prohibition was never repealed.
• The TV series The Untouchables chronicled many real-life stories from Prohibition-era Chicago and the anti-racketeering campaign of Eliot Ness.
• The light novel by Ryogo Narita and anime Baccano major plot point settings happen in a prohibition era of New York
• An episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment" involved Springfield deciding to enforce what seemed to be a long-ignored Prohibition law.
• An episode of the anime series Chrono Crusade involved the mafia warfare brought about by the Prohibition.
• An episode of ABC Family's Greek threw a Great Gatsby prohibition party with a speakeasy.
• In an episode in the 1980 BBC drama Partners in Crime, which is based upon the novel by Agatha Christie, the American ambassador mentioned prohibition to Tuppence when they were at a "typical English party" where alcohol was provided.
• In The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Indiana Jones refers to an alcoholic beverage received at a club after asking for water as "prohibition water," indicating that the club was serving alcohol, despite prohibition.
• An episode of The Three Stooges featured Larry, Curly and Moe making bootleg alcohol in a bathtub.
• The upcoming HBO series Boardwalk Empire focuses on gangsters in Atlantic City at the dawn of Prohibition.

See also

Notes

References

• Kingsdale, Jon M. "The 'Poor Man's Club': Social Functions of the Urban Working-Class Saloon," American Quarterly vol. 25 (October, 1973): 472-89.
• Kyvig; David E. Law, Alcohol, and Order: Perspectives on National Prohibition Greenwood Press, 1985.
• Mark Lender, editor, Dictionary of American Temperance Biography Greenwood Press, 1984
• Miron, Jeffrey A. and Jeffrey Zwiebel. “Alcohol Consumption During Prohibition.” American Economic Review 81, no. 2 (1991): 242-247.
• Miron, Jeffrey A. "Alcohol Prohibition" Eh.Net Encyclopedia (2005) online
• Moore, L.J. Historical interpretation of the 1920s Klan: the traditional view and the popular revision. Journal of Social History, 1990, 24 (2), 341-358.
• Sellman; James Clyde. "Social Movements and the Symbolism of Public Demonstrations: The 1874 Women's Crusade and German Resistance in Richmond, Indiana" Journal of Social History. Volume: 32. Issue: 3. 1999. pp 557+.
• Rumbarger; John J. Profits, Power, and Prohibition: Alcohol Reform and the Industrializing of America, 1800–1930, State University of New York Press, 1989.
• Sinclair; Andrew. Prohibition: The Era of Excess 1962.
• Timberlake, James. Prohibition and the Progressive Movement, 1900–1920 Harvard University Press, 1963.
• Tracy, Sarah W. and Caroline Jean Acker; Altering American Consciousness: The History of Alcohol and Drug Use in the United States, 1800–2000. University of Massachusetts Press, 2004
• Victor A. Walsh, "'Drowning the Shamrock': Drink, Teetotalism and the Irish Catholics of Gilded-Age Pittsburgh," Journal of American Ethnic History vol. 10, no. 1-2 (Fall 1990-Winter 1991): 60-79.

Further reading

• Behr, Edward. (1996). Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America. New York: Arcade Publishing. ISBN 1-559-70356-3.
• Burns, Eric. (2003). The Spirits of America: A Social History of Alcohol. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-592-13214-6.
• Clark, Norman H. (1976). Deliver Us from Evil: An Interpretation of American Prohibition. New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-05584-1.
• Kahn, Gordon, and Al Hirschfeld. (1932, rev. 2003). The Speakeasies of 1932. New York: Glenn Young Books. ISBN 1-557-83518-7.
• Kobler, John. (1973). Ardent Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-11209-X.
• Lerner, Michael A. (2007). Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-02432-X.
• Murdoch, Catherine Gilbert. (1998). Domesticating Drink: Women, Men, and Alcohol in America, 1870-1940. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-85940-9.
• Okrent, Daniel. (2010). Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-743-27702-3.
• Peck, Garrett. (2009). The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet. Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-813-54592-7.
• Pegram, Thomas R. (1998). Battling Demon Rum: The Struggle for a Dry America, 1800-1933. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 1-566-63208-0.
• Waters, Harold. (1971). Smugglers of Spirits: Prohibition and the Coast Guard Patrol. New York: Hastings House. ISBN 0-803-86705-0.

External links

• Alcohol prohibition (EH.Net economic history encyclopedia)
• The Effect of Alcohol Prohibition on Alcohol Consumption (PDF)
• Hypertext History — U.S. Prohibition
• Prohibition news page — Alcohol and Drugs History Society
• About.com: Prohibition (in the U.S.)
• Did Prohibition Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Crime?
• Report on the Enforcement of the Prohibition Laws of the United States by the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (Wickersham Commission Report on Alcohol Prohibition)
• Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings on Alcohol Prohibition — 1926
• Policy Analysis — Alcohol Prohibition Was A Failure
• Prohibition in Appalachia: "Little Chicago" The Story of Johnson City,Tennessee
• Free from the Nightmare of Prohibition (by Harry Browne)
• Historic Images of US Prohibition
• Prohibition: How Dry We Ain't - slideshow by Life magazine

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