A&E Television (an American cable network) will broadcast a new 3 hour
program on American prohibition.  Among the consultants for this program
were David Kyvig, John C. Burnham, and Austin Kerr.  The world premiere is
July 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.  What follows is the press release from their web site:
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
 
      PROHIBITION: 
      THIRTEEN YEARS THAT CHANGED
      AMERICA
 
 
     At the stroke of midnight on January 16, 1920, America went dry - by
decree of the 18th
     Amendment. A three-hour World Premiere, A&E SPECIAL PRESENTATION:
PROHIBITION:
     THIRTEEN YEARS THAT CHANGED AMERICA presents a remarkable study of the
"dry" years.
     Years that are represented in popular culture by flappers and
flivvers, parties and speakeasies,
     gangsters, G-men and the Jazz Age. Today, prohibition is shrugged off
as either a colorful
     aberration or a categorical failure. In fact, it was neither. The
legislation that turned America dry
     was supported by more than 80 percent of Congress and ratified by no
fewer than 90 percent of
     the states. It was enacted as a result of a campaign that lasted the
better part of a century. It
     succeeded in reducing alcohol consumption in the U.S. by two thirds,
and its adoption heralded one
     of the most affluent periods of American history. 
 
     Backed by new research, A&E SPECIAL PRESENTATION:PROHIBITION: THIRTEEN
YEARS
     THAT CHANGED AMERICA tells why the 18th Amendment was doomed from the
start - how the
     righteous rejoiced, and the gangster flourished. How the craving for
alcohol turned honest citizens
     into bootleggers, and criminals into millionaire celebrities. For
thirteen years, corruption seeped
     into America's institutions, from the police right up to the White
House, forever changing the
     country's morals and attitudes toward law enforcers, politicians,
authority, and woman's roles in
     society. The scenes include the single-handed axing of saloons by the
head of a Kansas knitting
     circle; the infamous St. Valentine's day massacre; the haunts of Al
Capone; the White House where
     the president who introduced the law remained a hardened drinker; and
the Congress that kept its
     own still in the Senate Library. 
 
     This A&E SPECIAL PRESENTATION:PROHIBITION: THIRTEEN YEARS THAT CHANGED
     AMERICA is an enthralling and little-known true story, told by
eye-witnesses who ran the
     speakeasies, ran the rum, bought the cops, defended Capone and were
the first on the scene after
     the St. Valentine's Day massacre. The memories are as sharp today as
if the events they report
     happened only yesterday. It's a program that could change America's
perception of those thirteen
     dry years. What did they mean to the nation then and what can they
teach us today? 
 
     Check out our Special on PROHIBITION: THIRTEEN YEARS THAT CHANGED
AMERICA in this
     website. 
 
     PREMIERE:July 27 at 8pm/12am ET (5pm/9pm PT)
     REPEAT DATE: August 2 at 9pm/1am ET (6pm/10pm PT)
     LENGTH: 3 hour
     NARRATOR: Ed Asner
     PRODUCED BY: Atlantic Productions for BBC Wales and A&E Network
     **NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE [TV PG]
 
 
 
     
 
     © 1997 A&E Television Networks. Please use this form to submit your
comments. 
     Site designed and maintained by InterActive8 
 
 
K. Austin Kerr                   e-mail [log in to unmask]
Professor of History             office (614)292-2613
Ohio State University            department  292-2674
Columbus, Ohio 43210 USA         fax    (614)292-2282