Ken Burns: Prohibition

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League push for an amendment to the Constitution outlawing alcohol nationally.

Enforcing the new law of Prohibition creates problems.

By the close of the 1920s, many blame the law for the rise of criminal syndicates, promiscuity, and a sense that the entire government is corrupted. Once the Great Depression sets in, Americans begin to re-examine their priorities. By December of 1933, Prohibition's reign finally comes to an end under President Franklin D Roosevelt, and for the first time in 13 years, Americans can legally buy a drink.