Ken Burns: Prohibition

Ken Burns: Prohibition
TV Show · Documentary · History

Discover the true story of America’s “Great Experiment.” Go beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum-runners, flappers and speakeasies to experience the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s Prohibition.

2011 · 1h 34m
Starring John Lithgow, Campbell Scott, Peter Coyote
Director Lynn Novick, Ken Burns

Season 1

  • A Nation of Drunkards
    EPISODE 1
    A Nation of Drunkards
    The Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League push for an amendment to the Constitution outlawing alcohol nationally.
    52m
  • A Nation of Scofflaws
    EPISODE 2
    A Nation of Scofflaws
    Enforcing the new law of Prohibition creates problems.
    1h 50m
  • A Nation of Hypocrites
    EPISODE 3
    A Nation of Hypocrites
    Support for Prohibition diminishes in the mid-1920s; Congress passes the 21st Amendment in 1933, repealing Prohibition.
    52m

Related

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  • The U.S. and the Holocaust
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
  • Benjamin Franklin
  • Primary
  • The War Room
  • The Fog of War

Cast & Crew

  • John Lithgow
    Voice
  • Campbell Scott
    Reader
  • Peter Coyote
    Narrator
  • Lynn Novick
    Director
  • Ken Burns
    Director
  • Ken Burns
    Producer
  • Geoffrey Ward
    Writer

About

Ken Burns: Prohibition

Documentary

Discover the true story of America’s “Great Experiment.” Go beyond the oft-told tales of gangsters, rum-runners, flappers and speakeasies to experience the rise, rule and fall of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s Prohibition.

Information

Studio
PBS
Released
2011
Rated
PG
© 2011 Ken Burns/ Florentine Films/ WETA

Languages

Original Audio
English, English (Australia), French
Audio

English (United States) (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
  • Français (Canada)
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Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cape Verde
  • Egypt
  • Eswatini
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • India
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Lebanon
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Niger (English)
  • Oman
  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • Tajikistan
  • Turkmenistan
  • Uganda
  • United Arab Emirates
  • Zimbabwe

Asia Pacific

  • Australia
  • Cambodia
  • Fiji
  • 香港
  • Indonesia (English)
  • 日本
  • Lao People's Democratic Republic
  • 澳門
  • Malaysia (English)
  • Micronesia, Federated States of
  • Mongolia
  • New Zealand
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • 대한민국
  • 台灣
  • Thailand
  • Turkmenistan
  • Vietnam

Europe

  • Armenia
  • Österreich
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia
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  • Estonia
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  • Moldova, Republic Of
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  • Россия
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
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  • Sverige
  • Schweiz
  • Türkiye (English)
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina (Español)
  • Bahamas
  • Belize
  • Bermuda
  • Bolivia (Español)
  • Brasil
  • Virgin Islands, British
  • Cayman Islands
  • Chile (Español)
  • Colombia (Español)
  • Costa Rica (Español)
  • Dominica
  • República Dominicana
  • Ecuador (Español)
  • El Salvador (Español)
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala (Español)
  • Honduras (Español)
  • México
  • Nicaragua (Español)
  • Panamá
  • Paraguay (Español)
  • Perú
  • St. Kitts and Nevis
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

  • Canada (English)
  • Canada (Français)
  • United States
  • Estados Unidos (Español México)