Debut of the opening part of Ken Burns new series about prohibition. It was far more complex than just restricting alcohol. It also brought in conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, issues with immigrants, woman's rights, gave rise and power to the mafia. and remains as the only US ammendment to the Constitution that restricted citizens rights. It was a huge mistake, but at least corrected. Watch the series if you can, it should be good.
Ken Burns New Series: Prohibition
- Thread starter Asterix
- Start date
Substitute yesteryear's alcohol with today's illicit substances (& services) and do we presently have much of a different situation?
Very interesting first program.
Among the points discussed was single issue voting.
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Also not generally known is that Canada almost went down the same road, in fact a national referendum approved of Prohibition, but P.M. Laurier declined to enact legislation, and Ontario was officially "dry" from 1916 to 1926.
Among the points discussed was single issue voting.
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Also not generally known is that Canada almost went down the same road, in fact a national referendum approved of Prohibition, but P.M. Laurier declined to enact legislation, and Ontario was officially "dry" from 1916 to 1926.
I love Ken Burns series. I still remember Baseball and The American Civil War.
The Seagram Bronfmans made their fortune during prohibition.
The Seagram Bronfmans made their fortune during prohibition.
There is no hard evidence of it, although it wouldn't have been out of character. Joseph P. Kennedy made most of his money as a commodity and stock investor (others would say manipulator), investing in real estate and in the financing of various Hollywood studios.
in the 1930's he was part of the group who were the exclusive American agents for Haig & Haig and Dewar's Scotch as well as Gordon's Gin.
Some other provinces also went that way. E.g. Saskatchewan even had to set up their own provincial police force because they didn’t think the RCMP was putting enough effort into enforcing their prohibition laws.
I always thought that marijuana brought us jazz. Either way. Jazz remains as the only uniquely American cultural invention. Ken Burns, if you're watching, do a series on that next.
Hell up until about 10 years ago, Toronto West Junction was a dry neighbourhood and you were not allowed to buy alcohol there.
(Smugglers from Bloor West Village apparently made a killing)
(Smugglers from Bloor West Village apparently made a killing)
You're correct. Camera speeds were far too slow to take any pictures of the action, but they could take many of the aftermath. Especially Mathew Brady, who shocked people with photographs of the butchery of modern war. To most people, war still had a romantic appeal. The Civil War completely destroyed that illusion in the US, for a generation or two anyway. If Europeans had paid attention, WWI might not have happened.
If I remember correctly, all the photos were B&W and the negatives were on plate glass. Amazingly they survived over 100 years.
Not sure if you're joking or not...
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_(TV_series)
They were called dagurreotypes, and were on glass plates. Very cumbersome. After the war nobody wanted them anymore, and the negative glass plates were sold to greenhouse owners, where the images of the war were slowly burned clear by the sun.
There are photos extant from the Crimean War of the 1850s. A recent review in the NY Times Review of Books discusses the 'truth' of them and of Brady's Civil War photos, since both photographers had a habit of rearranging bodies and other artifacts for better effect. Never happens in our day.
