It Turned Citizens into Criminals ....

....And Criminals into Kings . Fueled the Jazz Age & made the 1920's roar . But also was a time of extremely polarized politics where one group tried to legislate morality on another large segment of US citizenry ...

Master documentary film maker Ken Burn's and Lynn Novick's new effort for PBS the Film :

"PROHIBITION "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJdKK6L8Z2o
( this should be real good , must see )

“Prohibition” is a three-part, five-and-a-half-hour documentary directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The film starts in the 18th century with the early history of alcohol in America and examines the 19th century temperance and progressive movements. ”Prohibition” tells the story of famous and lesser known characters from the era, including Al Capone, Roy Olmstead, George Remus, New Yorker columnist Lois Long, repeal activist Pauline Sabin, and politician Al Smith.

The film also tells the story of American politics, immigrant culture, rural vs. urban life, the KKK, and music and film – the very culture that was spurred into creation by the open consumption of alcohol in an era known for prohibiting its use. ”Prohibition” raises questions about how we as a society should try to deal with alcohol and alcoholism, what responsibilities government can and should have for individual behavior, and the potential dangers of expecting government to resolve social or moral disputes.

"You end up with laws and policies that don't make any sense and then you can't find a way out of it, and that's what happened with Prohibition," she said. "It went on for a very long time because once the two sides were set, there was no room for conversation about, 'This isn't working, how can we fix it, what should we do?"

"None of that happened for quite a long time," He said. " Prohibition broke down the respect for law and law enforcement, corruption was pervasive. ... It was a corrosive problem."

Awesome post.

Prohibition Fast Facts
http://www.prohibitionrepeal.com/history/fastfacts.asp

So convinced were they that alcohol was the cause of virtually all crime that, on the eve of Prohibition (1920-1933), some towns actually sold their jails. i

During Prohibition, temperance activists hired a scholar to rewrite the Bible by removing all references to alcohol beverage. ii

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) strongly supported Prohibition and its strict enforcement. iii

Because the temperance movement taught that alcohol was a poison, supporters insisted that school books never mention the contradictory fact that alcohol was commonly prescribed by physicians for medicinal and health purposes. iv

Prohibitionists often advocated strong measures against those who did not comply with Prohibition. One suggested that the government distribute poisoned alcohol beverages through bootleggers (sellers of illegal alcohol) and acknowledged that several hundred thousand Americans would die as a result, but thought the cost well worth the enforcement of Prohibition. Others suggested that those who drank should be:

hung by the tongue beneath an airplane and flown over the country
exiled to concentration camps in the Aleutian Islands
excluded from any and all churches
forbidden to marry
tortured
branded
whipped
sterilized
tattooed
placed in bottle-shaped cages in public squares
forced to swallow two ounces of caster oil
executed, as well as their progeny to the fourth generation. v

A major prohibitionist group, the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) taught as "scientific fact" that the majority of beer drinkers die from dropsie (edema or swelling). vi

Prohibition agents routinely broke the law themselves. They shot innocent people and regularly destroyed citizens' vehicles, homes, businesses, and other valuable property. They even illegally sank a large Canadian ship. vii

"Bathtub gin" got its name from the fact that alcohol, glycerine and juniper juice was mixed in bottles or jugs too tall to be filled with water from a sink tap so they were commonly filled under a bathtub tap. viii

The speakeasy got its name because one had to whisper a code word or name through a slot in a locked door to gain admittance. ix

Prohibition led to widespread disrespect for law. New York City alone had about thirty thousand (yes, 30,000) speakeasies. And even public leaders flaunted their disregard for the law. They included the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who owned and operated an illegal still. x

Some desperate and unfortunate people during Prohibition falsely believed that the undrinkable alcohol in antifreeze could be made safe and drinkable by filtering it through a loaf of bread. It couldn't and many were seriously injured or killed as a result. xi

In Los Angeles, a jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial after it drank the evidence. The jurors argued in their defense that they had simply been sampling the evidence to determine whether or not it contained alcohol, which they determined it did. However, because they consumed the evidence, the defendant charged with bootlegging had to be acquitted. xii

When the ship, Washington, was launched, a bottle of water rather than Champagne, was ceremoniously broken across its bow. xiii

Prohibition led to a boom in the cruise industry. By taking what were advertised as "cruises to nowhere," people could legally consume alcohol as soon as the ship entered international waters where they would typically cruise in circles. xiv

National Prohibition not only failed to prevent the consumption of alcohol, but led to the extensive production of dangerous unregulated and untaxed alcohol, the development of organized crime, increased violence, and massive political corruption. xv

The human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies. xvi

Prohibition clearly benefited some people. Notorious bootlegger Al Capone made $60,000,000...that's sixty million dollars...per year (untaxed!) while the average industrial worker earned less than $1,000 per year. xvii

But not everyone benefited. By the time Prohibition was repealed, nearly 800 gangsters in the City of Chicago alone had been killed in bootleg-related shootings. And, of course, thousands of citizens were killed, blinded, or paralyzed as a result of drinking contaminated bootleg alcohol. xviii

The "Father of Prohibition," Congressman Andrew J. Volstead, was defeated shortly after Prohibition was imposed. xix

Repeal occurred at 4:31 p.m. on December 5, 1933, ending 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours and 32.5 minutes of Prohibition.
"What America needs now is a drink" declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of Prohibition. xx

Although Prohibition was repealed 75 years ago, there are still hundreds of dry counties across the United States today. xxi

Love this one ...just what most IC would do

In Los Angeles, a jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial after it drank the evidence. The jurors argued in their defense that they had simply been sampling the evidence to determine whether or not it contained alcohol, which they determined it did. However, because they consumed the evidence, the defendant charged with bootlegging had to be acquitted. xii

mr. greenmatter do you feel that you can serve on this jury ?

don't know your honor, what strain was he growing? i like indicas, how about yourself your honor?

Thanks for the heads up, hadn't heard about this yet. Burns' other films are all great, amazing how he incorporates still photographs to tell a story.

It will be interesting to see if he references the modern day equivalent of alcohol prohibition....hmmm, what could that be?

I don't see how he could avoid making the comparison, both alcohol and weed prohibition have damaged society in similar ways. And, supposedly we have become smarter as the days have gone by...

Can't wait to watch it.

The thing I hate about ken burns is he just takes a bunch of archival footage and adds a sound track with narration by historians etc.

Watch his war stuff, the sound is all off/wrong.

Not much original, all rehashed.

Well thats pretty much what History is ...may not the most exciting major & may not get you laid alot in College...but

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” ~ George Santayana
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/george_santayana/




* who also said :

“History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there.” George Santayana quote

greenmatter said:

mr. greenmatter do you feel that you can serve on this jury ?

don't know your honor, what strain was he growing? i like indicas, how about yourself your honor?

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My grandfather was making his own "raisin~jack" in his basement in mason jars when one of the summers during a hot spell the whole batch exploded and stunk up the neighborhood.

He was a self made guy of "darker" foreign extraction ( Portuguese) who had moved up into a well~to~do White Wasp wealthy neighborhood in the hills . He had that "godfather" look about him & a semi pro boxer back in the rough n tumble days of San Francisco in his youth but later in life carried himself with that "slow dignity" that impressed everyone .
And always dressed very well , just like Don Corleone ....

The neighbors always wondered where this "portugee" got the money to move into "their" beautiful neighborhood & now they knew . He was a bootlegger!! lol

(actually he started his own furniture company , was one of the more respected businessmen in San Francisco & made the finest on the west coast & had 75 employees)

greenmatter said:

mr. greenmatter do you feel that you can serve on this jury ?

don't know your honor, what strain was he growing? i like indicas, how about yourself your honor?

Click to expand...

Why certainly your Honor! Trust me!!
At least it would b a trial by my peers!

Looks great. Hopefully PBS'll throw it all online so I can get to watch it.

Thanks for the heads up Madrus Rose. I'll keep a look out for it. Looks interesting.

well it helped fund the kennedys thats for sure

Prohibition led to a boom in the cruise industry.... By taking what were advertised as "cruises to nowhere," people could legally consume alcohol as soon as the ship entered international waters where they would typically cruise in circles. xiv

Too bad there can't be Pot Crusies

( but since the 1961 United Nations Narcotics Treaty , Cannabis was declared a Schedule I Narcotic & made internationally illegal...so no Carnival Cannabis Cruises anytime soon )

supermanlives said:

well it helped fund the kennedys thats for sure

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Not just the Kennedy Clan but the Bronfman Family of Canada who smuggled booze into the US across the Great Lakes and all over into the Midwest speakeasys out of Chicago .

The once smuggler Sam Bronfman went onto create the huge Seagram's family dynasty after Prohibition, the world's largest suppliers of Alcohol & spirits Internationally
(And the Bank of Montreal their flagship )
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ja10/timeline/liquor-men.html


The surname Bronfman means “liquor man” in Yiddish and that is exactly how the Bronfman brothers styled themselves. They operated the Distillers Corporation Ltd. in Montréal, founded by the Bronfman family in 1924, as well as a number of export houses along the Canada-U.S. border. Sam took the lead and in 1928 merged their company with Seagram and Sons Ltd. to create Seagram Company Ltd., the world’s largest distillery.

The surname Bronfman means “liquor man” in Yiddish and that is exactly how the Bronfman brothers styled themselves. They operated the Distillers Corporation Ltd. in Montréal, founded by the Bronfman family in 1924, as well as a number of export houses along the Canada-U.S. border. Sam took the lead and in 1928 merged their company with Seagram and Sons Ltd. to create Seagram Company Ltd., the world’s largest distillery.

Here's more the "dirt down" facts on the Bronfman's
& some tidbits on the Kennedys...illegal Liquor funded many things <G

Whiskey, Dope and Hot Money Banks
http://www.skolnicksreport.com/whiskey.html
.
.
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,

"The Real McCoy"

from: The United States Prohibition of Alcohol - 1920-1933
http://cocktails.about.com/od/history/a/prohibition_3.htm

Sound familiar?

Many rural Americans began to make their own hooch, ‘near’ beer and corn whiskey. Stills sprung up across the country and many people made a living during the depression, supplying neighbors with their moonshine. The mountains of the Appalachian states are famous for moonshiners and although it was decent enough to drink, the spirits that came out of these stills were often stronger than anything that could have been purchased before prohibition. The moonshine would often be used to fuel the cars and trucks that carried the illegal liquor to their distribution points and the police chases of these transports have become equally famous. With all of the amateur distillers and brewers trying their hand at the craft there are many accounts of things going wrong: stills blowing up, newly bottled beer exploding and alcohol poisoning.

Rum-running also saw a revival as a trade in the United States. Liquor was smuggled in station wagons, trucks and boats from Mexico, Europe, Canada and the Caribbean. The term “The Real McCoy” came out of this era. It’s attributed to Captain William S. McCoy who facilitated most of the rum running via ships during prohibition and would never water down his imports, making his the “real” thing. McCoy, a non-drinker himself, began running rum from the Caribbean into Florida shortly after the beginning of prohibition. One encounter with the Coast Guard shortly thereafter stopped McCoy from completing runs on his own. The innovative McCoy set up a network of smaller ships that would meet his boat just outside U.S. waters and carry his supplies into the country.

Madrus Rose said:

Love this one ...just what most IC would do

In Los Angeles, a jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial after it drank the evidence. The jurors argued in their defense that they had simply been sampling the evidence to determine whether or not it contained alcohol, which they determined it did. However, because they consumed the evidence, the defendant charged with bootlegging had to be acquitted. xii

Click to expand...

Brothers always help brothers right?