PBS Previews | Prohibition
A 30 minute preview of Prohibition and a Q&A with Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.
Episodes
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A Nation of Hypocrites
S1 E3 - 1h 46m
Gangsters make huge profits and wreak havoc in cities across the country. By the late 1920s, many Americans believe that Prohibition has failed. After the election of FDR in 1932, Prohibition is repealed
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A Nation of Scofflaws
S1 E2 - 1h 51m
In 1920, Prohibition goes into effect and millions of law-abiding Americans become lawbreakers overnight. Drys had hoped Prohibition would make the country a safer place, but the law has many victims
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A Nation of Drunkards
S1 E1 - 1h 36m
The story of Prohibition's rise and fall is a compelling saga that goes far beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, flappers, and speakeasies, to reveal a complicated and divided nation in the throes of momentous transformation.
Extras + Features
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A Genuine American
S1 - 12m 39s
The 1928 Presidental election between Hoover and Al Smith was one of the dirtiest in history.
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Fiorella LaGuardia
S1 - 3m 30s
Fiorella LaGuardia was a Republican Congressman of New York and critic of the Volstead Act.
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Satan's Seat (NYC)
S1 - 1m 50s
New York was the city with the most illegal speakeasies, and the toughest city to crack down on drinking.
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Official Trailer 1
S1 - 32s
Discover the true story of America's "Great Experiment" - the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlawing alcohol - in Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's PROHIBITION.
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Frances Willard & Mary Hanchett Hunt
S1 - 7m 27s
Frances Willard started the Women's Christian Temparance Union Mary Hanchett Hunt was in charge of the Dept. of Scientific Instruction in the public schools.
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Terribly Wonderful
S1 - 9m 11s
Beer and Whiskey were not the Saloons only attraction to men, it served as a haven of manhood. Most cities had a designated district for saloons.
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Eliza Jane Thompson
S1 - 7m 12s
Eliza Jane Thompson, the wife of an ohio judge, led a women's protest of saloons by praying in front of them.
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Mabel Walker Willebrandt
S1 - 5m 52s
Mabel Walker Willebrandt was the Asst. Attorney Gen. and in charge of the Prohibition enforcement policy.
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Margot Loines Wilkie: On Dating
S1 - 43s
Margot Loines Wilkie talks about what dating was like in the 1920's and the changing sexual mores of women.
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Retribution
S1 - 8m 54s
The Anti Saloon League successfully combined propaganda, religion and political coercion to make alcohol a wedge issue in elections.
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Pauline Sabin
S1 - 10m 2s
Pauline Sabin, an heiress disillusioned with the Republican party, began the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform.
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The Volstead Act
S1 - 3m 15s
The Volstead Act was much stricter than most Americans had anticipated, including Wine and Beer in Prohibition.
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