1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,279 Speaker 1: All right, I get it, Trust me, I really get it. 2 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: It's January. Time to straighten up, take a good look 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: at ourselves and fix what needs to be fixed. Now. 4 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: For some of us, it's dry January, and that means 5 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: just for the month, switching from beer, wine, and liquor 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:20,920 Speaker 1: to sparkling water, juice or soda. But not everybody's willing 7 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: to give up the hoots, right, It's nothing new in America. 8 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: Prohibition kicked in in nineteen twenty. Lots of folks, including 9 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:32,879 Speaker 1: one very prominent visitor to the US, found a way 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: to get around those strict liquor laws. I'm Patty Steele, 11 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: party on even using doctors' orders to get a stiff drink. 12 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back all right. 13 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:53,559 Speaker 1: On January seventeenth, nineteen twenty, when prohibition shut down all 14 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:58,360 Speaker 1: the bars, saloons, and taverns across the United States, the dries, 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: as they were called, were extra. They thought that a 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: lot of the problems in our society were rooted in booze. Alcoholism. 17 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: They said led to fights, domestic violence, family breakups, and 18 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: what was called saloon based political corruption. They saw it 19 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,960 Speaker 1: as a battle for public morals and health progressives from 20 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:20,679 Speaker 1: all the big political parties, as well as the Women's 21 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,440 Speaker 1: Temperance Union, pushed for the ban on booze of all types. 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: But as you can imagine, there were a bunch of 23 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: people who decided they'd find a way around prohibition, even 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: if it was an illegal path or sketchy path at best. 25 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:40,120 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty two, Winston Churchill, later the Prime Minister 26 00:01:40,160 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: of Great Britain, came to the United States to give 27 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 1: some speeches. He was a super wealthy aristocratic party boy, 28 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: but he was also building his political career. Now. The 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 1: problem is Winston, in addition to being a big cigar smoker, 30 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: loved to drink. Records show he would start his day 31 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: with a big glass of whiskey and soda, followed by 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: a full bottle of champagne at lunch. He'd have pre 33 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:09,280 Speaker 1: dinner cocktails and several glasses of wine during dinner, and 34 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 1: then brandy report in the evening. Wow. But this was 35 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: prohibition in America. So what did he do when he 36 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: came here? Well, it seems he brought his own stash. 37 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: The party continued for Winston and others with the connections 38 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:28,360 Speaker 1: and means to get what they needed. In fact, Churchill 39 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: came back in nineteen twenty nine for a grand tour 40 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: of North America while he was also attempting to build 41 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,600 Speaker 1: his son, Randolph's political career. They started in Canada and 42 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: then came to the US still prohibition, remember that. But 43 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: they partied at Hurst Castle and in Hollywood, where Charlie 44 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: Chaplin hosted them for a raucous time. Meantime, young Randolph 45 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: would sneak very young actresses into his rooms for wild parties. 46 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: At the end of that trip, Winston happened to be 47 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: hit by a taxi cab in New York. But guess 48 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: what That run in with the taxi came in kind 49 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:07,360 Speaker 1: of handy. When Winston visited New York City once again 50 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty two, he came prepared. Turns out his 51 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,919 Speaker 1: doctor in New York was more than willing to lend 52 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,080 Speaker 1: a hand. Doctor O. C. Pickhard wrote the following letter 53 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: for Winston and told him to keep it on him 54 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: at all times. It read, this is to certify that 55 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: the post accident convalescence of the Honorable Winston S. Churchill 56 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits, especially at meal times. 57 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:38,200 Speaker 1: The quantity is naturally indefinite, but the minimum requirements would 58 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:43,000 Speaker 1: be two hundred and fifty cubic centimeters signed auto pihard MD. 59 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: That was three years after the taxi mishap. And by 60 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: the way, that's eight ounces of booze at any given time. Anyway, 61 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: back to the early twenties, the Roaring twenties, of course, 62 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: everybody wanted to sip pretty quickly. The desire for cocktails 63 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: gave rye to speak, easies, black market bootleggers, and the 64 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: growth of organized crime. Moonshine, like homemade bathtub gin, was 65 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,600 Speaker 1: a hot commodity. Not to mention big business bootlegged liquor, 66 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: sometimes made with industrial alcohol, neither tasty nor healthy. In fact, 67 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: bootleggers were willing to try pretty much anything to meet 68 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: the demand for illegal liquor. Some added dead rats to 69 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: their moonshine to make it taste more like bourbon. Yum 70 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: doesn't sound like any bourbon I've had. They also added 71 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,400 Speaker 1: tar and oil from trees to simulate gin and scotch. 72 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: Doctors saw a whole lot more business when it came 73 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: to people getting sick from partying. By the mid nineteen twenties, 74 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: the government was willing to go to dangerous lengths to 75 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: try to shut down the bootleggers. They started adding denatured 76 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: alcohol to the industrial alcohol supply that bootleggers were using 77 00:04:56,120 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: for illicit booze. That government intervention may have led across 78 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: the country to as many as five thousand deaths. It 79 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: finally became clear that prohibition wasn't sustainable. It had shut 80 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: down businesses that could have employed tens of thousands at 81 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: least during the depression, and at the end of the day, 82 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: like everything else, it all came down to money. The 83 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:24,119 Speaker 1: government couldn't effectively enforce prohibition, especially during the depression because 84 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: like everybody else, they had no money. During prohibition, they 85 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,919 Speaker 1: lost about two hundred and twenty six million dollars a 86 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: year when they lost the tax revenue from the sale 87 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,040 Speaker 1: of liquor. That would be billions of dollars in today's money. 88 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: After prohibition went away, they immediately began taking in a 89 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: minimum of four hundred and thirty five million dollars a 90 00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: year just from the sales tax on booze. So here's 91 00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: the question. Did prohibition do any good while it was 92 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,480 Speaker 1: in effect, Well, it didn't really impact the number of 93 00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: people drinking alcohol long term, but medical records show there 94 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: was a decrease in cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcohol, 95 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: alcoholic psychosis, and infant mortality during those years. On the 96 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: other hand, stats show that in many cities crime actually 97 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: rose during prohibition and drug addiction was up by as 98 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,119 Speaker 1: much as forty five percent. Prohibition ended on December fifth, 99 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: nineteen thirty three, with the ratification of the twenty first Amendment, 100 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: which repealed the eighteenth Amendment banning booze through prohibition. It's actually, 101 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,280 Speaker 1: believe it or not, the only time a constitutional amendment 102 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: has been passed in order to repeal another amendment. I 103 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,919 Speaker 1: guess Churchill would argue that for him, booze was just 104 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:49,039 Speaker 1: with the doctor ordered because despite the smoking, drinking and 105 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: tons of rich food he took in along with the 106 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: stress of running Great Britain during World War II, Winston 107 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: Churchill still managed to live to the ripe old age 108 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: of nineteen I hope you like the backstory with Patty Steele. 109 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: Please leave a review. I would love it if you'd 110 00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:10,640 Speaker 1: subscribe or follow for free to get new episodes delivered automatically. 111 00:07:11,160 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 1: Also feel free to DM me if you have a 112 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty 113 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 114 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 115 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 116 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 117 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 118 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty 119 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 120 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,440 Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history 121 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.