The United States Goes Dry - Alcohol Prohibition I THE GREAT WAR

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 พ.ย. 2024
  • In January 1920, after one year of preparation, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution went into effect. From now on alcohol prohibition was the law.
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    » SOURCES
    Ehmer, K. and Hindermann, B. (2015). The School of Sophisticated Drinking. New York: Greystone Books.
    Miron and Zwiebel, Alcohol Consumption During Prohibition. In the American Economic Review, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 242-247, (May 1991).
    Darrow, Clarence, and John Haynes Holmes. Debate On Prohibition. Haldeman-Julius Co., 1924.
    Iorizzo, Luciano J. Al Capone. Greenwood Press, 2003.
    Nemtsov, Aleksandr. A Contemporary History of Alcohol in Russia. Stockholm, 2011.
    Sullivan, Edward D. Rattling the Cup on Chicago Crime. New York: The Vangaurd Press, 1929.
    United States Government, Codification of Internal Revenue Laws, ... Published Pursuant to Section 1203(c) Revenue Act of 1926.
    18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. www.loc.gov/rr...
    United States Department of Agriculture. Crop Production Historical Track Records, 2018. www.nass.usda....
    Kamieński, Łukasz: Drugs , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2019-03-07
    Blocker, Jack S Jr. “Did prohibition really work? Alcohol prohibition as a public health innovation.” American journal of public health vol. 96,2 (2006): 233-43.
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    Presented by: Jesse Alexander
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ความคิดเห็น • 684

  • @TheGreatWar
    @TheGreatWar  4 ปีที่แล้ว +86

    Support The Great War on Patreon and keep it free as an educational resource (despite TH-cam's moves against history channel): patreon.com/thegreatwar

    • @franciscomm7675
      @franciscomm7675 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The Great War, happy new year

    • @Jackson-mm3qb
      @Jackson-mm3qb 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The Great War Can you guys make a special on the true story of Alvin York, and how he was actually a fraud?

    • @KonradSeverinHilstad
      @KonradSeverinHilstad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      We also had prohibition during this time in Norway, and I presume in other countries it Northern Europe as well.

    • @hectormorales5306
      @hectormorales5306 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Look at how much the Rockefeller foundation and big oil also funded a lot of this movement so farmers and/or average Americans that were used to extracting a type of alcohol from grain or even potatoes back then could run their own farm equipment on their own fuel. You will see how big corporations used this legislation also to stifle out competition in the fuel or petroleum industry. You should research this and make a follow up to this video it is very significant

    • @hectormorales5306
      @hectormorales5306 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The women's Christian temperance movement was funded in a big way by the Rockefeller foundation.

  • @moosemaimer
    @moosemaimer 4 ปีที่แล้ว +909

    The funniest thing about Prohibition was the companies making things like malt and pressed grapes with warnings on the package that said things like "after mixing with water, whatever you do: make sure you don't drop in a packet of yeast, pour into a jug, and place it in a cool dry place for several weeks, because that would produce an alcoholic beverage _and you don't want that!"_

    • @momcilogavric4930
      @momcilogavric4930 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      No way??
      No country cant be so fucked up?!?

    • @TheHiddenPart
      @TheHiddenPart 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      cough-solvent traps-cough

    • @alexandrub8786
      @alexandrub8786 4 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      @@momcilogavric4930 'Merica!

    • @exploatores
      @exploatores 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      I have seen my self a beer brewing kit. with the text that it it´s ileagla to put extra suger in to it. as the level of alcohol goes to high. Yes it stod how much suger you shouldn´t put in.

    • @HistoryGameV
      @HistoryGameV 4 ปีที่แล้ว +54

      @@momcilogavric4930 Nope, it's true. There were very precise informations on how many other ingredients you absolutely shouldn't put in cause that would turn it into alcohol. xD

  • @tuomopoika
    @tuomopoika 4 ปีที่แล้ว +277

    Finland also had alcohol prohibition between 1919 and 1932. Not surprise to anybody, it created similar results as in the USA. The consumption moved more heavily towards strong alcohol since it was more easy to smuggle than beer. The law also basically destroyed the Finnish beer industry that really did not recover before many decades later.
    Also during the prohibition 40 police officers were killed in the line of duty, which sounds insane when you are talking about Finland. It seems there was some sort of organized crime here as well but I have not read too much about it at this point. Perhaps we had our own "al capone" here as well.

    • @kchall5
      @kchall5 4 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      With access to Russian vodka on one side and Swedish aquavit on the other, it boggles the mind how Finland's sobriety could not last. Just like the US had ready access to Canadian whiskey and Mexican tequila.

    • @jika327
      @jika327 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      I guess Algoth Niska could be called 'Finnish Al Capone'. Finnish prohibition lasted from 1919 to 1932 and as tuomopoika said, ~40 officers were killed in duty. This could be compared to the past ~89 years during which roughly 80 officers have been killed. And since no one asked, 8 officers were killed during the first year of independent Finland.

    • @HistoryGameV
      @HistoryGameV 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      There must have been plenty of guns after the revolution and civil war, quite surprising the numbers were so low.

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      MORE THAN LIKELY.

    • @joluoto
      @joluoto 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      There certainly werealot of smugglers in the southern archipleago, and most of the alcohol was smuggled from Estonia. Smuggling fromSweden also happened, but to a lesser degree due to the Bratt Act rationing system, that basically made booze hard to get hold of in Sweden too. German ships also benefited from this, ships boud for Tallin or Riga stayed outside Finnish waters and waited for the bootleggers, then sold them the booze before continuing to their destination.

  • @jollybritishchap485
    @jollybritishchap485 4 ปีที่แล้ว +441

    Alcohol Prohibition or "How I learned to stop worrying and join the Mafia"

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Multi Same with all kinds of Prohibition.

    • @JenniferinIllinois
      @JenniferinIllinois 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I see what you did there. 🤣🤣🤣

    • @MrGiygas1
      @MrGiygas1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      YOU CAN’T BOOTLEG IN HERE! THIS IS A SPEAKEASY

    • @MrGiygas1
      @MrGiygas1 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      YOU CAN’T BOOTLEG IN HERE! THIS IS A SPEAKEASY

    • @spydr7768
      @spydr7768 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Excellent reference. 👏👏👏👏

  • @Ashfielder
    @Ashfielder 4 ปีที่แล้ว +374

    Years of fighting for your country, and how do they reward you? They take away the fun juice.

    • @thomasbertelsen4486
      @thomasbertelsen4486 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      It’s no fun, for me or was the medicine I could get, the best care raising a glass with drunks at a bar. I can’t stand it now but still get jacked.
      That is no fun.
      I’m glad a MJ is legal now, they can self medicate with less collateral damage to society.

    • @graeme3023
      @graeme3023 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      "Years" of fighting??????

    • @Ashfielder
      @Ashfielder 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Graeme Entry in 1917, through to the Siberian shenanigans up to 1920

    • @graeme3023
      @graeme3023 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Ashfielder "entry into" doesn't equal "fighting"

    • @Ashfielder
      @Ashfielder 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Graeme Well, even 1918 to 1920 counts as years, rather than a year, doesn’t it? Besides, American troops did fight in 1917 to bolster British and French forces.

  • @ricardoaguirre6126
    @ricardoaguirre6126 4 ปีที่แล้ว +172

    "To alcohol, the cause of and the solution to all of life's problems."

    • @spudgunn8695
      @spudgunn8695 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Ah, the gospel according to Homer Simpson. I salute you, sir!

    • @spudgunn8695
      @spudgunn8695 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Pour me another Jim Beam, would you?

    • @johnmccallum8512
      @johnmccallum8512 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      The human body is 75% water in my case BEER

  • @gcircle
    @gcircle 4 ปีที่แล้ว +227

    "Let's ban booze. What could possibly go wrong?"
    Narrator: Everything

    • @Raskolnikov70
      @Raskolnikov70 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      *Laughs in Sicilian*

    • @lavrentivs9891
      @lavrentivs9891 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Apart from public health

    • @patrick8116
      @patrick8116 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Just like gun control.

    • @lauracurriero303
      @lauracurriero303 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@patrick8116 Plenty of countries around the world have strict gun laws and they seem to be doing fine, way better thn the US i might add, but i'm not going to stop you from being an idiot

    • @peashootz9917
      @peashootz9917 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Wrong, the world would be MUCH better

  • @herbwag6456
    @herbwag6456 4 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    There was a post-WW1 saying among American doughboys that you missed: "We went to war to save the world for freedom, but when we got home found that we couldn't order a beer."

    • @Ugly_German_Truths
      @Ugly_German_Truths ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A lot of them couldn't before the war either as the Drinking age in much of the USA was already 19 - 21 and the Doughboys would often be below that age even after serving their tour.

    • @deskejtx6211
      @deskejtx6211 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​​@@Ugly_German_Truthsyou can go to war to kill people but you can't order a beer, nice

  • @derrickthewhite1
    @derrickthewhite1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +197

    Lenin: "Then it is necessary to choose between indenture and vodka"
    The Great War: "They Choose Vodka"
    glorious line.

  • @alexfilma16
    @alexfilma16 4 ปีที่แล้ว +272

    If a homeless person illegally brewed alcohol, would it still be homemade?

    • @channeldmitry8460
      @channeldmitry8460 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      //music plays

    • @Game_Hero
      @Game_Hero 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@channeldmitry8460 Proud to know the reference :)

    • @ibnyahud
      @ibnyahud 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      if you are going to be overly pendantic like that, then technically even if someone made it at home, it would not be homemade because THEY made it and not the home lol

    • @abraxorcaco
      @abraxorcaco 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Makeshift?

    • @conveyor2
      @conveyor2 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Homelessly Made and Proud

  • @jessealexander2695
    @jessealexander2695 4 ปีที่แล้ว +130

    Hey folks, hope you enjoy this episode. It was hard not to go on and on about the hooch-running from Canada and the alleged Al Capone hideout in the town of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan...

    • @zoperxplex
      @zoperxplex 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Mr. Alexander are you Canadian? If so you must have the intestinal fortitude of a Saint Simeon Stylites not to tell stories about the Prohibition era.

    • @jessealexander2695
      @jessealexander2695 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@zoperxplex I am Canadian - I guess I picked up some of St Simeon Stylite's self-discipline when I visted the supposed remains of his pillar way back when...

    • @oslonorway547
      @oslonorway547 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I was listening to this while cooking. And @@jessealexander2695 read that 10:04 so well, 👍 I thought he was talking about himself, that he was making his own opinions known on the matter. 😁
      Edit: Also wish you guys had included a fun fact about those _Cow shoes_ which moonshiners used to wear, to disguise their human footprints in the fields, while smuggling contraband across vast borderlands. .... Perhaps in a follow up episode filled with Fun Facts of that era.

    • @jessealexander2695
      @jessealexander2695 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@oslonorway547 Thanks, but as an objective host I will keep my opinions of prohibition to myself of course ;)

    • @BGH1961
      @BGH1961 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Actually Canada had prohibition laws, too. Different ones in different provinces. For instance, the sale and consumption of alcohol in Prince Edward Island in 1901 and in Ontario was prohibited in 1916, but it was still legally allowed to be made for export. It gets complicated because of the difference between Federal and Provincial jurisdictions.
      So liquor was made in Ontario, and legally purchased for export by smugglers who ran it illegally into the U.S. but Canadians in Ontario couldn't buy alcohol and neither could it be imported, even from other provinces.

  • @thevoidlookspretty7079
    @thevoidlookspretty7079 4 ปีที่แล้ว +153

    “We are fighting Germany, Austria, and drink.”
    Cries in Turkish.

    • @alexandrub8786
      @alexandrub8786 4 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      Cries harder in Bulgarian.

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      When you think the void looks pretty
      The void also admires you

    • @thevoidlookspretty7079
      @thevoidlookspretty7079 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Morty Sanchez I’m not sure if that’s deep, but it does sound both pretty and like a compliment. Thanks.

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@thevoidlookspretty7079
      Credit Nietzsche ^^

    • @thevoidlookspretty7079
      @thevoidlookspretty7079 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Morty Sanchez Cool.

  • @Corium1
    @Corium1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +96

    1918: America's won! The U.S is the best country ever!
    1919 Prohibition: OH CANADA!

    • @Biker_Gremling
      @Biker_Gremling 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      LOL 😂

    • @TheCrimsonEssence
      @TheCrimsonEssence 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Funny thing, we Canadians had a prohibition of our own around the same time, but many of our distilleries were allowed to manufacture for export.

  • @yourstruly4817
    @yourstruly4817 4 ปีที่แล้ว +160

    So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Yours Truly You see the “successes” of the war against drugs.

    • @charlesthepaperman
      @charlesthepaperman 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Ah... Prohibition... Nothing like a decent witch hunt...

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Handsome B. Wonderful On the costs of society.

    • @alexandrub8786
      @alexandrub8786 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@charlesthepaperman it wasn't truly a witch hunt because they couldn't burn/jail Alfonso with accusations only.

    • @minuteman4199
      @minuteman4199 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      By letting women vote.

  • @boahkeinbockmehr
    @boahkeinbockmehr 4 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    Imagine getting back from the war to find your country prohibiting you from having a beer on it

    • @GazB85
      @GazB85 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Or cocaine, or heroin, morphine and opium.
      Damn you Defence of the Realm Act!

  • @bliblablubb9590
    @bliblablubb9590 4 ปีที่แล้ว +66

    In Germany the consumption of Beer actually increased at the frontline in WW1. The reason was more a dietary one, since food was becoming so scarce but beer was still somewhat plentyfull and was intended to bolster the rations.

    • @RainbowManification
      @RainbowManification 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Beer is essentially liquid bread

    • @mauricewalshe8234
      @mauricewalshe8234 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      Beer is also safer than potentially contaminated water

    • @neurofiedyamato8763
      @neurofiedyamato8763 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Wine doesn't help fight the cold. No alcohol helps you fight the cold. It actually lowers body temperature, not increase. However you do FEEL warmer. Quite dangerous since people undergoing hypothermia would get a drink thinking it'll warm themselves, but actually its the opposite. I'm not sure if this was common medical knowledge back in WW1 though.

    • @mauricewalshe8234
      @mauricewalshe8234 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@neurofiedyamato8763 this was watered wine - the losses from dysentery and waterborne illnesses would be more of a concern

    • @JarthenGreenmeadow
      @JarthenGreenmeadow 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      ​@@neurofiedyamato8763 "No alcohol helps you fight the cold."
      You must never have been outside in the winter. Beer absolutely does help. You arent going to get hypothermic unless you arent moving for a looooooong time (or in poor gear).
      The feeling of being warm is a MASSIVE morale boost that far offsets the risk of hypothermia (literally isnt even a concern if you're dressed appropriately)
      "people undergoing hypothermia would get a drink thinking it'll warm themselves"
      Is spoken like someone who has never been hypothermic. People with hypothermia dont think *AT ALL* lol. Thats why its so dangerous. People will do some CRAZY stuff when they get cold and yea if you're already hypothermic and you start drinking you'll probably die. But on the whole hypothermia has A LOT more to do with what you're wearing and doing than what you're drinking.
      Source: Snowmaker for 5 years, Vermonter my whole life. We get plenty drunk in the winter.
      Some highlights:
      I've had 18 beers and fell asleep in a snowbank before but since I was in full snow gear (baselayer/facepro/goggles/gloves/hat/sweatpants/snowpants/gaiters/midlayer/jacket/wool socks/Scarpa boots) it was just comfy. Snowbanks are way way better than memory foam.
      I've met a man who lived in an igloo at 3 am, sitting on a plastic lawnchair, drinkin beers in nothing but boxers, not even shoes. This is January it was all of 5°F in the middle of a blizzard, the snow that landed on this guy was literally STEAMING off of him, never seen anything like it. We found him and his igloo about 300 yards into the woods about halfway up the mountain after we saw his lantern. He offered us all a beer and we took him up on it and left him be.
      Ice fishing is basically impossible without drinking. I dont know anyone who goes ice fishing to fish lol.

  • @TheRealGuywithoutaMustache
    @TheRealGuywithoutaMustache 4 ปีที่แล้ว +117

    The government: (Bans America's favorite drink)
    Also the government: What could possibly go wrong?

    • @thatonecrytian8997
      @thatonecrytian8997 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Just Some Guy without a Mustache: Are you sure you don’t have a mustache?

    • @taxax3782
      @taxax3782 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      As it turns out everything

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Same with now illegal drugs. Prohibition is doomed to fail.

    • @firemochimc
      @firemochimc 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@monkeydank7842 exactly, monetization and regulation is a far more humane and profitable course of action

    • @ericiron4520
      @ericiron4520 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Wait Did they ban Coke no no no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

  • @LogicalMan6
    @LogicalMan6 4 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    "You really think prohibition will be a success?"
    "Of course it'll be a success, how could it possibly go wrong? That's like asking if the stock market will crash, it's impossible."

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      LogicalMan6 Same success as the “war against drugs” is.

    • @davidhoran7116
      @davidhoran7116 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Monkeydank it’s just more prohibition

    • @Zamolxes77
      @Zamolxes77 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@monkeydank7842 “war against drugs” is not a war. Wars end.

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Zamolxes77 Among all senseless wars, this is among the most stupid ones.

    • @patrick8116
      @patrick8116 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Gun control advocates: unintended consequences, that's unpossible.

  • @moffjendob6796
    @moffjendob6796 4 ปีที่แล้ว +111

    "The only TH-cam channel that could really go for a little medicinal whiskey."
    Oooh. Shots fired at Indy's end-of-video toast. :p

    • @ActuallyDoubleGuitars
      @ActuallyDoubleGuitars 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      I've only started watching this channel but what happened to him? was it an amicable split?

    • @HistoryGameV
      @HistoryGameV 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@ActuallyDoubleGuitars From what I know not exactly.

    • @panzerofthelake506
      @panzerofthelake506 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@ActuallyDoubleGuitars the great war ended and he was fired because of the depression.

    • @ActuallyDoubleGuitars
      @ActuallyDoubleGuitars 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@panzerofthelake506 the depression? Or was that a joke about the depression.

    • @ActuallyDoubleGuitars
      @ActuallyDoubleGuitars 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@HistoryGameV Interesting. Also is that his real name because a guy called Indiana who is into history that's too funny.

  • @mikhailbychkov5042
    @mikhailbychkov5042 4 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    Temperance Movement: Finally, an alcohol free America
    Speakeasy clubs, moonshiners and gangsters: *allow us to introduce ourselves*

    • @finchborat
      @finchborat 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Also a blackmarket, though you expanded on that.

    • @richardthomas9497
      @richardthomas9497 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Don't forget the bootleggers and scofflaws.

  • @thebestcentaur
    @thebestcentaur 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    "Wine was issued to frontline troops" is the most French thing I've ever heard.

  • @t5ruxlee210
    @t5ruxlee210 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Prohibition in the USA and elsewhere was also a highly political, Protestant led movement, strongest in smaller cities and rural areas. The temperance movement targeted national governments because alcohol "sin" taxes have always been a very significant source of their revenue.

    • @Susieq26754
      @Susieq26754 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It wasn't protestant led. It was led by secret societies. Those sufferagettes did what their masonic husband's told them to do. They all made money off illegal alcohol.

  • @cliftondean4333
    @cliftondean4333 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    My maternal grandfather was opposed to alcoholic beverages. When I was young, we would visit my grandparents. When we took them to dinner, it had to be a restaurant that did not serve alcohol. He was a fine cabinetmaker, and did a lot of interior work on a new church building, and briefly attended services there. When he discovered that they served fermented wine during Communion, he left the congregation and joined one that served unfermented "wine (grape juice.) During Prohibition he discovered an illegal still on his farm property and notified the authorities. Not long thereafter, his house was torched . Not only that, he had a gasoline powered water pump, but when it started, it sucked air. He discovered that his water line from the well had been cut. That experience was not isolated.

    • @carlhull8276
      @carlhull8276 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Sounds like Grampa NEEDED a drink!!!

  • @RolfHartmann
    @RolfHartmann 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Amusing thing to me about Prohibition is that most wealthy countries include a small portion of alcoholic drink in their military field rations, but the US does not. We also increasingly ban our troops from drinking when mobilized including to places that allow drinking. When I was in deployed after Hurricane Katrina drinking was strictly banned for fear of offending the local customs of New Orleans of all places.

    • @brucetucker4847
      @brucetucker4847 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      All alcoholic beverages have been banned on US Navy ships since 1914. One July 4 when the ship I was on had been on an extended deployment and had been at sea for several weeks they rigged a "liberty boat" so about 20 sailors or Marines at a time could get on the boat, ride out a few yards from the ship, and drink one beer each. I'm guessing that wouldn't pass muster in today's military.

  • @GeneralSmitty91
    @GeneralSmitty91 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    Al Capone proclaims himself the GOAT before it was cool to use the term 😂

  • @TheLazer3
    @TheLazer3 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    According to family legend my great grandfather was involved in Rum running in Boston. Though this was just a drunken admission by my grandfather one night thirty five years so who knows.

    • @tiggergolah
      @tiggergolah 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      So was Joseph Kennedy. He was probably telling the truth.

  • @Beowulf_DW
    @Beowulf_DW 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    My great-grandfather was a bartender at a speakeasy during Prohibition. He was arrested during a raid, but they let him go because word came in that my grandmother had just been born...Also because they were all Irish immigrants and some of the cops were customers, so...

  • @tombickers
    @tombickers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    One quick point of clarification....Clarence Darrow was NOT the Scopes Trial prosecutor, he was on defense. William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor.

  • @Kellethorn
    @Kellethorn 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Fun Fact: Utah, one of the States with the most liquor laws today, actually voted to repeal prohibition and was the last state necessary to make it official.

  • @GreedPainLove
    @GreedPainLove 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Drinking habits in my country (finland) were destroyed for almost a century due to prohibition. People moved to strong spirits and as in the US crime went up. Then after prohibition, alcohol remained a state monopoly, and they kept a tab on how much you bought (they could deny you drinks if you had bought too much lately), they were allowed to call your family and employer to ask how your habits are etc. etc. This lead to a lot of abuse and the temptation of the forbidden fruit. Since the 90s, there have been a lot of liberalization, and there's talks of even abandoning the state monopoly completely at some point, now that liberalization has lead to youn people consuming beer and wine instead of spirits. Prohibition is a typical example of a well meaning policy, that leads to absolute catastrophe

    • @vksasdgaming9472
      @vksasdgaming9472 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Of course only spirits were smuggled. Thousand liters is thousand liters and if that is 90% pure booze you can/must dilute it and sell way more. If it is beer you cannot dilute it and odds of getting caught and punishment are about as same.

  • @AshGamer007
    @AshGamer007 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    The 18th amendment: Bans Alcohol
    Irish and Italian immigrants: Anyway I started blasting

  • @hemmingwayfan
    @hemmingwayfan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    A whiskey prescription from Prohibition: "For stimulation, take 1.5 ounces every hour, on the hour, until stimulated."

  • @geoffwaller8571
    @geoffwaller8571 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Prohibition began five years earlier in 1915 here in Washington State. So many Americans drove up to Canada to party that a number of horrible auto accidents occurred because Canada drove on the other side of the road, like England. Because of this Canada changed to American Standards. There were aircraft that flew up to Canada, loaded up and flew back to the US.

  • @hlynnkeith9334
    @hlynnkeith9334 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Prohibition: Another reason to hate Woodrow Wilson.

    • @shawngilliland243
      @shawngilliland243 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Though didn't Wilson veto the Prohibition law? (Congress over-rode his veto.)

    • @hlynnkeith9334
      @hlynnkeith9334 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@shawngilliland243 Yes, you are correct.

    • @shawngilliland243
      @shawngilliland243 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@hlynnkeith9334I wouldn't have you think that I hold Wood'n Head Wilson in high regard, however. 🙂

    • @hlynnkeith9334
      @hlynnkeith9334 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@shawngilliland243 Wood'n Head Wilson. I like that. Thank you.

    • @shawngilliland243
      @shawngilliland243 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@hlynnkeith9334you're welcome! I was inspired by the title of Mark Twain's book, Puddin' Head Wilson.

  • @ricardoaguirre6126
    @ricardoaguirre6126 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I highly recommend the documentary series made by Ken Burns on prohibition.

  • @GrinderCB
    @GrinderCB 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Ken Burns' PBS film on Prohibition is very informative on the subject. Lots of things came out of Prohibition - organized crime, NASCAR, etc. Interestingly, the exclusive '21' club in NYC got its start as a prohibition era speakeasy. They still use the secret key to open the hidden wall/door as part of the mystique of the place.

  • @1QU1CK1
    @1QU1CK1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Standard Oil funded much of the Temperance movement to end competition from alcohol engines and it worked.

  • @richardthomas9497
    @richardthomas9497 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    There is great documentary of Prohibition by Ken Burns that gives a detailed and wholesome view during that time.

  • @urbanlumberjack
    @urbanlumberjack 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Really happy this channel is still going!

  • @t3hmaniac
    @t3hmaniac 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fun fact about the British method of reducing alcohol consumption. In addition to restricting alcohol somewhat (including banning the sale of spirits on Saturdays) they also arranged social events and increased the sale of food at pubs to compensate for the loss of revenue. This model was so effective even post-war that the pub model based on the government-run models became the defacto default mode of operation for pubs all the way to the 1970s.

  • @ThunderBuddy
    @ThunderBuddy 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I bet this pissed off a lot of returning American soldiers.

  • @hlynnkeith9334
    @hlynnkeith9334 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I find George V's abstinence to be an affected pretense. In the officers' messes the RFC and the RAF continued to toast the king's health every Thursday evening.

  • @ricardoaguirre6126
    @ricardoaguirre6126 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    "I'm gonna get you beer baron if it's the last thing I ever do."
    "No you won't."
    "Yes I will."
    "Won't."

  • @Darwinek
    @Darwinek 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Another countries experimenting with prohibition were / still are Scandinavian countries. Also, with quite dubious results as well.

  • @johnyarbrough502
    @johnyarbrough502 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    9:54Clarence Darrow appeared for the defense in the Scopes Trial, not the prosecution.

  • @jovanweismiller7114
    @jovanweismiller7114 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    My home State of Kansas had already been 'Dry' by constitutional action since 1881.

  • @ebarteldes
    @ebarteldes 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    In a country that is so serious about personal freedoms, Prohibition was anathema. Funny thing is, there is still a prohibition party in the United States

  • @karstenwinkler6923
    @karstenwinkler6923 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You got a real winning engaging way to speak.

  • @michaelhaywood8262
    @michaelhaywood8262 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In GB, pub opening hours were restricted as an emergency measure in WW1 forcing all pubs to close in the afternoon, and to close at 1030pm. Pubs were allowed to open for a short period at lunchtime and again in the evening. After the war these rules were generally kept with occasional minor amendments. Overall pubs could open fror 9 hours a day, although local magistrates could allow an extra half hour. In my area this extra half hour was given on Fridays and Saturdays all year, and on Mondays to Thursdays from June to mid-September. The afternoon closing was finally repealed in 1988 [although it was retained on Sundays until 1995].

  • @andreascovano7742
    @andreascovano7742 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    15:30 As long as it is Medicinal!

    • @Biker_Gremling
      @Biker_Gremling 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Currently at Las Vegas, quite a few places for 'medicinal' cannabis here 🥴

  • @moosemaimer
    @moosemaimer 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Do I watch this now, or do I wait until later, when I have a drink...

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Beer in my hand
      Makes it better
      Grab a drink

  • @biologicalengineoflove6851
    @biologicalengineoflove6851 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The Great War made an episode about Prohibition? I'll drink to that!

  • @kierandoodykd
    @kierandoodykd 4 ปีที่แล้ว +47

    Imagen if these guys just carried on making videos for every week up untill like 2114 😂

    • @megakillerx
      @megakillerx 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Doody
      Hi, I’m Indy Nidell III and welcome to THE THIRD GREAT WAR series.

    • @AlanDeAnda1
      @AlanDeAnda1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@megakillerx I'm so fan of Indy channels that when I introduce myself I can't avoid say: "Hi, I'm Indy Neidel" Even I'm mexican.

  • @kazem766
    @kazem766 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Vow. This was on my recommendations page. It's been so long that all your videos get demonetized and removed from 1st page that I actually was shocked to see one in my recommendations list.

  • @lebedarobert552
    @lebedarobert552 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great episode...thank you ...greetings from the czech republic :-)

  • @thenadonation2664
    @thenadonation2664 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    it didn't drop it, just 30 to 40% of people weren't saying they were drinking because it was illegal.....

  • @tablighibayans
    @tablighibayans 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    "Capone was pulling in 100 million dollars a year, thats 1.5 billion in todays money!"

  • @Camlification
    @Camlification 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    3:42 Coors as well (Adolph Kuhrs). According to Wikipedia, Prohibition had started in 1916 in Colorado, and the company had been making malted milk.

  • @leethear3303
    @leethear3303 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Did not know Russia tried prohibition .. that’s how you know it’s bad... thanks for the very insightful video guys 👍🏻

  • @gleisbauer25
    @gleisbauer25 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    The whole time I had the image of Jesse hiding a tommy gun under the desk😉

  • @AxShroudedxSeer
    @AxShroudedxSeer 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Welcome to the new year great war channel!😀

  • @brucetucker4847
    @brucetucker4847 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    We recognized the right of women to vote and the first thing they did was turn around and ban booze.

    • @patdan123
      @patdan123 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Actually not women as a whole conservative women groups or conservative groups love the idea of banning alcohol. Thats why Warren G harding won.

    • @chrisvickers7928
      @chrisvickers7928 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Not quite, the 18th amendment ban alcohol and the 19th gave women the vote.

    • @brucetucker4847
      @brucetucker4847 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@chrisvickers7928 15 states had full voting equality for women and many others had partial women's suffrage before the 19th Amendment was ratified.

    • @chrisvickers7928
      @chrisvickers7928 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@brucetucker4847 I will correct my post, the 19th amendment gave women the vote federally. Constitutional amendments have to be passed the the federal congress by 2/3 majority in both houses and ratified by 3/4 of states which I think meant 36 back then. If women in 15 states only could vote that their votes are not sufficient to pass prohibition.

  • @paulwoodman5131
    @paulwoodman5131 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Shades of this law exist today. Sunday alcohol sales are restricted in many states. Government liquor stores are in place in others as well. In my state, cold beer sales are only allowed in stand alone liquor stores, and Sunday Carry out sales were allowed just a couple years ago. Liquor laws vary from state to state. My favorite liquor store name is 21st Amendment.

  • @briantayler1230
    @briantayler1230 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    G'day from Australia. The name given to the low-quality wine issued to the French troops was "plonk". The Australian soldiers caught onto this name and even today, we use this term "plonk" to describe cheap wine.

    • @hlynnkeith9334
      @hlynnkeith9334 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Today the daily ration for a Legionnaire is half a litre of wine. The Legion has its own vineyard and bottles its own wine for that purpose.

    • @ChristopherNFP
      @ChristopherNFP 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      vin de blanc is what the French called it.
      the troops picked up on the last word.

    • @hlynnkeith9334
      @hlynnkeith9334 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ChristopherNFP Makes sense but seems odd. The French ration is red wine. Blanc is a white wine.

    • @ChristopherNFP
      @ChristopherNFP 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@hlynnkeith9334
      in the farms and bistros, were not served just red wine.

  • @neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819
    @neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Err, the British licensing laws last until the 1990s virtually unaltered.

  • @colinwolf9730
    @colinwolf9730 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You gotta do top ten stupid moves of the last years of the war soon sometime! This is easily one of the top ones!

  • @Jarod-sm5rf
    @Jarod-sm5rf 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    10:30 wise man he’s words would haunt America like a vengeful Wraith.

  • @charlesthepaperman
    @charlesthepaperman 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    "Prohibition"
    ... It didn't work in the movies, how could it then ever work in reality?!

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Handsome B. Wonderful And it doesn’t help us now.

    • @m2heavyindustries378
      @m2heavyindustries378 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Did none of you get the Simpson's reference? No?

  • @LastofAvari
    @LastofAvari 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Russians tried to prohibit alcohol right before the Soviet Union had fallen apart and that didn't go quite well either.

  • @oceannavagator
    @oceannavagator 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Tonics that included alcohol like "Hadacol" and other beef iron and wine concoctions sold like crazy.

  • @vksasdgaming9472
    @vksasdgaming9472 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In two countries Prohibition was used it got identical results: general lawlessness and INCREASE OF BOOZING. Not to mention loss of tax revenue which made tackling first issue even harder. Alcohol is ridiculously easy to produce as well.

  • @Pandacous
    @Pandacous หลายเดือนก่อน

    The fact it worked by 30% is incredible but also it made the act of drink a violent one. Taking it out of the legitimate private sector and putting it in the criminal one certainly made it an ere of draconian success.

  • @David-fm6go
    @David-fm6go 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    8:55 Acts do not amend the constitution in the United States. The Volstead act was passed after the 18th amendment was ratified so as to provide for an enforcement mechanism.

  • @Jesse__H
    @Jesse__H 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I felt that thumbnail 😅

  • @sonofthewolfguardianofthef1214
    @sonofthewolfguardianofthef1214 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Imagine being a saloon owner struggling to make ends meet then have a group of angry women march in and bust up hundreds of 1918 dollars worth in alcohol

    • @red9man2130
      @red9man2130 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I would have beaten them like a cheap steak and then bent them OVER for what they had earned for themselves!

  • @kanedafx
    @kanedafx 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Me: "I'm a communist."
    Lenin: "A model communist is a teetotaler, a model state does not deal in alcohol."
    Me: "F communism! Viva la liberty!"

    • @lkzhang820
      @lkzhang820 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Revolver Ocelot Yes it is important for the revolutionaries to have sharp and clear minds. That is why they should be ware of alcoholic.

  • @JohnnyAloha69
    @JohnnyAloha69 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Fascinating video, very well researched and presented!

  • @nicholasnewlin1138
    @nicholasnewlin1138 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This made me think of my great grandpappy.

  • @MoffeeA453
    @MoffeeA453 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This channel is friggin great. I am so glad I found it when I searched for "Downfall Scene Explained"! Subbed!

  • @sjnm4944
    @sjnm4944 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "Let's examine and address the wider social and economic conditions that drive many to alcoholism."
    "Nah, let's just ban booze lol. Nothing can go wrong!"

    • @patrick8116
      @patrick8116 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      The creed of wannabe slave masters everywhere.

  • @elweasel2010
    @elweasel2010 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    8:30 I drove thru france once, The rest stops cafeteria sell .5l bottle of wine. Yes, after driving have some wine and then continue driving.

  • @HistoryonYouTube
    @HistoryonYouTube 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    If we are to learn from history the mistakes of the past in order not to repeat them in the future, prohibition is perhaps the best example I can think of. Today the problem is drugs, it appears to me that the war on drugs is what is causing most of the problems, perhaps if some were legalised and brought into the economy with taxation revenues etc then perhaps there would be fewer problems. Just a thought from someone who does not even drink.

  • @hildoschutte6200
    @hildoschutte6200 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Regarding the quote of Lenin at 7:20 : Already since the end of the 19th century, socialists in Western Europe were fighting alcohol for a number of reasons: It made the workers numbed and complacent and it robbed families of their income with dad spending his wages on booze instead of food and housing for his family. A spearpoint of the socialists In The Netherlands for instance, was to forbid the paying out of wages in bars/pubs to avoid such excesses.

    • @MrKeithtoad
      @MrKeithtoad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Didn't Lenin say, "Vodka is the opiate of the masses?" Something like that, anyway...

  • @endcensorship874
    @endcensorship874 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Ken Burns documentary is a fascinating program on Prohibition if one is looking for more.

  • @finchborat
    @finchborat 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I had no clue prohibition-like attitudes concerning alcohol existed in other countries during that time.

  • @kstreet7438
    @kstreet7438 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Welcome back! Been waiting for this one

  • @GrindcoreEnthusiast
    @GrindcoreEnthusiast ปีที่แล้ว

    I have to say this now, thanks for the banger of a song I just made 🙏🙏🙏

  • @lanceash
    @lanceash 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Clarence Darrow wasn't the Scopes Trial "prosecutor." He was the attorney for the defendant.

  • @J.D-g8.1
    @J.D-g8.1 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The only thing more stupid than a law against alcohol is a law against stimulant and narcotic drugs. But luckily we've progressed.. oh wait..

  • @timmcdaniel6193
    @timmcdaniel6193 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    9:49 Clarence Darrow was not the prosecutor in the Scopes trial. He was the defence attorney.

    • @MTTAMcCall
      @MTTAMcCall 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Glad someone else spotted that error. Clarence, the great defender, is probably turning over in his grave because he was called a prosecutor.

  • @JeanLucCaptain
    @JeanLucCaptain 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    AS A CANADIAN I APPROVE THIS SEGMENT OF HISTORY!

  • @markoroganovic3338
    @markoroganovic3338 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbour. It makes you shoot at your landlord and it makes you miss him

  • @grime5652
    @grime5652 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I love the Great War channel

  • @cbsmmv05
    @cbsmmv05 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In the U.K Winston Churchill was defeated in his seat by a guy who ran for the Scottish Prohibition Party.

  • @timothyking2296
    @timothyking2296 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    We never actually did a full repeal. Run a still and see what the ATF will do if you don't pay for permission that is prohibitively costly by the average person. If you don't have $100,000 don't even think about making your own whiskey.

  • @kasalotahmet7623
    @kasalotahmet7623 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    THE BOARDWALK EMPIRE was an excellent Series...

  • @MrKeithtoad
    @MrKeithtoad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Seriously Jesse...how could you speak about Prohibition without mentioning what an affront it was to all of those returning vererans to be told that after all they had been through they were not allowed to consume alcohol for recreation or escape? Those who returned with various forms of shell shock or PTSD or just a really cynical view of the world must have been especially pissed off. That being said, I would love to see an episode dedicated to the difficulties Veterans on all sides had in returning to a normal life after the horrors that they had experienced.

  • @kendomyers
    @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Remember America, we _can_ correct our mistakes

    • @monkeydank7842
      @monkeydank7842 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Morty Sanchez Stop the “war against drugs”.

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @
      Right wingers threatening an armed temper tantrum if democracy prevails?
      What else is new?
      Hopefully a few of your fascist comrades in jail.
      Im curious, do you even live in Virginia? Until very recently I lived in Shockhoe. Gun control now!

    • @brucetucker4847
      @brucetucker4847 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @ Virginia's policy toward tyrants who would trample the rights of the people is proudly emblazoned on our flag.

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@killdizzle
      Read this carefully: there is no constitutional right to "weapons of war" (DC vs Heller 2008).
      Thats what conservative supreme court justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the case that established the modern gun rights regime... In 2008!
      That means you are older than the modern gun rights regime!
      That same case acknowledges that background checks, registration, and bans on machine guns are indeed constitutional.

    • @kendomyers
      @kendomyers 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @
      See my reply to doubleplusungood
      Same answer

  • @SM68Pete
    @SM68Pete 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Very informative. Gives outright pause to the government banning vices people enjoy. Though does lead one to wonder why alcohol played such a huge part of daily life back then. Nice touch on explaining movements in Europe and even Russia.

    • @brucetucker4847
      @brucetucker4847 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Alcohol has been a huge part of daily life since the invention of agriculture.

  • @wswordsmen
    @wswordsmen 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Slight correction, amendments to the constitution are always the "Xth amendment". In the case of what you are talking about the 18th Amendment gave the government authority to institute prohibition, which it defined under the Volstead Act.
    Also Clarence Darrow was the defense attorney in Scopes trial. William Jennings Bryan was for the prosecution.