A Nation of Drunkards (2 Oct. 2011)

The 19th century was a period of growth both for alcoholic beverages and the temperance movement. Washingtonian societies - made up of men who had taken a pledge to forgo all alcoholic ... See full summary »

Directors:

Ken Burns, Lynn Novick

Writer:

Geoffrey C. Ward

Stars:

Adam Arkin, Philip Bosco, Patricia Clarkson

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Adam Arkin
Philip Bosco
Patricia Clarkson	...	Eliza Hackett (voice)
Kevin Conway
Peter Coyote	...	Himself / Narrator
Blythe Danner
Noah Feldman	...	Himself
Paul Giamatti	...	(voice)
Catherine Gilbert Murdock	...	Herself
Pete Hamill	...	Himself
Tom Hanks	...	Himself (voice)
Jeremy Irons	...	Himself (voice)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	(voice)
Michael Lerner	...	Himself
William Leuchtenburg	...	Himself

Storyline

The 19th century was a period of growth both for alcoholic beverages and the temperance movement. Washingtonian societies - made up of men who had taken a pledge to forgo all alcoholic beverage - sprang up across the country. Women were often excluded from these groups and so formed their own. The women's crusade of 1873 was essentially a general strike by women who brought business to a halt. Their protest spread to 911 communities in 37 territories. However no laws had been changed and within a few years, saloons were back in business. In 1879, Frances E. Willard became the head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which she would lead for 19 years.It became a huge social welfare organization with 45 departments dealing with many issues other than temperance. Carrie Nation and her home defenders army started closing saloons in Kansas but it too failed to change laws. By the turn of the 20th century, there were some 300,000 saloons in America. Saloons were not only social ...

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Plot Keywords:

saloon | temperance movement | pledge | anti saloon league | wedge issue | 

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Genres:

Documentary | History

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

2 October 2011 (USA)

Company Credits

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Ten Nights in a Bar Room (1910)

User Reviews

An exceptional start...

This is the latest documentary series from Ken Burns--the docu-god for Public Broadcasting. Not surprisingly, with his amazing reputation for perfection, he was able to once again get many of America's top actors to provide their voice talents to the shows--such as Tom Hanks, Sam Waterston and Blythe Danner. And, like so many PBS documentaries, Peter Coyote narrates more than capably.

Episode One is a great start to the series. It is about the movement that began in the mid-19th century to limit alcohol use. Then, like many movements, it morphs into a much more extreme movement--to stop ALL alcohol use. The history of this movement is really interesting and discusses all the many factors that, by the end of the episode, resulted in a Constitutional Amendment banning alcohol. Overall, this was a very educational and interesting episode from start to finish. Well-crafted and worth seeing.