January 17 is the date that national Prohibition began in America. Liquor had been prohibited before in some states, like Maine, but January 17, 1920 was the start of what would be a thirteen-year catastrophe that brought about the creation of organized crime as well as a huge increase in poisonings, murders, and smuggling. Over the years, many myths circulated about liquor, prohibition, and crime. Here’s one website that you might enjoy about alcohol myths of the period that were used to scare people into supporting Prohibition. And another website has a four-page scholarly article written by an Australian historian about prohibition myths, such as: Prohibition laws made alcohol sales and consumption illegal or The defeat of Prohibition brought about a massive increase in liquor consumption.
I’ll raise a glass of my favorite wine (chenin blanc) to commemorate the date.
