Prohibition is impossible because of sin
Image via Wikipedia The new Ken Burns series “Prohibition” aired recently on PBS . (If you missed it, it’s streaming on a number of services and PBS’ website .) I was excited to watch it, especially because I had done some reading on the history of the 1920s as part of my dissertation research. I annoyed my husband by offering factoids before the documentary got to them, but the series also made me think, in both a historical and contemporary context, about the complexity of sin. The most surprising thing to me was this statement from historian Barry Hankin s: “If the goal was to significantly reduce drinking and reduce the influence of the saloon in American culture, then Prohibition was a success.” Before my research, I had been working with received knowle Image via Wikipedia dge that the prohibition law was a total failure. It didn’t prevent people from drinking and it fed organized crime. While both of those claims are true – and the crime problem might ...