I’m back from the beautiful shores of Priest Lake. The camp at Lionhead beach has WiFi now, but I refrained. This is the only way I can escape the cruel reign of the Obama White House. I jest of course, but it seems this large nation is littered with shovel-ready jobs brought to you by the manna of stimulus.
During the past week I read the outstanding book, Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent. Prohibition was the ultimate achievement of the “progressive” movement during the early twentieth century. Between 1910 and 1920 more Constitutional amendments were passed than at any time in the nation’s history other than the passage of the Bill of Rights.
Prohibition was by far the most moronic law passed during that era. The Constitutional amendment proved impossible to enforce. Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover were “dry,” but behind closed doors they could care less about the “dry movement.” The government didn’t spend very much to help enforce the law and bootlegging was rampant. The most annoying aspect of prohibition is the fact that income tax amendment was added to the Constitution to help pave the way for a dry America.
Since the United States government received so much revenue from alcohol taxes, progressives had to find another way to raise revenue if there was ever going to be prohibition. Progressives pushed for a national income tax first and prohibition second. Unfortunately, thanks to the massive government spending during the Great Depression the income tax was never repealed.
Prohibition reached its merciful end fourteen years after it was ratified, but not before it had increased violence, made many rich, and made fools of the well intentioned progressives. The author does a good job of remaining political neutral. Fortunately, enough time has passed to detached ourselves somewhat from that time period. Okrent still manages to take a small irrelevant jab at President Coolidge and mentions Karl Rove for no apparent reason, but these are small complaints.
The last two pages of the book are dedicated to Joseph Kennedy (father of the future President). The popular meme is that Joseph Kennedy was a bootlegger during prohibition; however, there’s absolutely no evidence that supports the claim. Kennedy sold alcohol legally during prohibition. Medicinal alcohol was widely available during the prohibition years and Kennedy sold to companies like Walgreens. Kennedy is no more of a bootlegger than Walgreens, which flourished during prohibition.
The source of the meme comes from an article from the ’50s that said Kennedy sold alcohol during prohibition. The author conveniently left out the fact it was sold legally. The bootlegger myth is a product of anti-Catholic bias that came up during JFK’s Senate run. Joseph Kennedy survived numerous congressional confirmations and bootlegging never came up once. Kennedy was preoccupied with the stock market during the ’20s, and the idea that he was a “bootlegger” is hilarious.
The book is a must-read for history buffs looking for more information about the progressive movement of the early twentieth century. Ken Burns is working on a prohibition documentary for PBS scheduled for 2011 and is using the book as a major reference. The book sheds a lot of light on the political culture of the time and influential giants like Wayne Wheeler who have been forgotten. Last Call is great read and a nice companion piece to Amity Shlaes’ The Forgotten Man.
The book just reinforces Club Soda’s brilliant idea of A Keg in Every Fridge. The nation definitely deserves prohibition reparations.
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