Understanding the history of US Prohibition law through a movie
Ken Burn’s film is probably one of the best resources you’ll find to discover all the events related to the emergence and decline of the (alcohol) Prohibition law in the United States.
Contain Spoilers!
The US Prohibition (1920–1933) didn’t took place out of nowhere. It was a product of several social factors “brewing” at that time, in mid-nineteenth-century. When the streets, squares, and public spaces began to watch drunk people, which until then could not handle alcohol consumption responsibly, disturbing the order, civil movements started to support sobriety, as if it was some kind of religion. Demonstrations were held at the streets and clashes began to take place. It didn’t take long for the authorities to move their efforts against these “troublemakers”.
“It is the prohibition that makes anything precious”
The movie starts with this reflection from Mark Twain. Starting from this premise, Ken Burns tries to show how the controversial ban on alcohol helped in making it even more interesting for the people.
Arguing that its abuse was destroying homes and families, and making public spaces an unpleasant environment, the fight for prohibition managed to unite religious and puritanist groups, that went later through the depredation and boycott of the saloons — as the bars and pubs were called at that time. On the other side of the “war on alcohol”, the resistance was held by immigrants, mainly German and Irish, especially for the fact that they made major investments to spread beer and whiskey culture across the so called New World.
With the social tensions growing around the theme, lawmakers were pressured to initiate discussions in the congress. After the first sessions, they immediately flirted with the possibility of banning alcohol, because “battles” were literally happening at the streets and saloons, on multiple cities. In August of 1917 the 18th constitutional amendment passed in the Senate, prohibiting the production, transportation and consumption of alcoholic beverages, called “intoxicants”, and then started being valid from January 1920.
Immediately after the law was approved, the inspections were intensified. After a while, the alcohol industry started being controlled by gangsters — yes, in practical terms, Prohibition did not extinguished alcohol consumption. Famous dealers, such as Al Capone, built their “career” and made fame at that time due to alcohol contraband. With the huge amounts of money they made from illegal activities, they were able to afford “buying” authorities and politicians, and therefore expand their criminal empire.
Prohibition debates started, much because people didn’t agree that the Estate should tell them how to live their private lives. It wasn’t right for the most disciplined drinkers to pay the price for the troublemakers. And the worst thing is that consumption didn’t ceased to exist. In fact, this was a very bad deal for the state, which was no longer collecting taxes on alcohol, now being illegally produced and sold by gangsters.
Prohibition could be one key factor for the homebrew culture to have grown in the US. When the 18th amendment was approved, many homemade alternatives for producing alcohol were created. It was possible to buy legal products at pharmacies and markets, and brew your own beer at home, which many people did, very rudimentary.
Apart from the Prohibition itself, the film also shows remarkable events in US history. From the 1929 economic crisis, to the election of Franklin Roosevelt (driven by the promise of putting an end to the Prohibition), from the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous to the famous gangsters.
The film / documentary was produced in a miniseries format for the PBS TV station and has won several awards at the Emmy Awards. It is available on Netflix catalog, divided into three parts. Without a doubt, a must see movie for the beer and history lovers!
