Focus: Prohibition

The primary sources in this Focus portfolio include a letter to law enforcement agents from a distraught housewife, political cartoons, photographs, and excerpts from a Prohibition pro and con debate. Your students will trace the prohibition movement from its roots in the early 1800s through repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933, and gain a deep, hand-on knowledge of the experience. Support Materials: * Illustrated Broadsheet Essay * Timeline * Critical Thinking Questions with Response Key * Recommended Reading List 8 Primary Source Documents: * Political cartoon poster: The Battle for Prohibition, 1855-1917 * Excerpts from "An Act to prohibit intoxicating beverages..." (Volstead Act), 1919 * Prohibition and gangsterism: Verdict in United States of America v. Alphonse Capone, October 17, 1931, and related photographs * Joseph Webster Golinkin lithograph: "Speako de Luxe," 1933 * Letter from Mrs. Hillyer to Prohibition enforcement authorities, Seattle, 1931 * Prohibition cartoons: 1925-1932 * Excerpts from "Prohibition Pro and Con: Joint Debate Between Representatives of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Anti-Saloon League of America," 1929 * Photo-poster: Prohibition: The Great National Experiment