Dear Editor: What Do Local Editorials Reveal About Public Opinion On Prohibition?

Jacob Bretz

Summer Fellowship Lesson 2008

Champaign County Historical Archives

Abstract: This set of lesson plans will attempt to analyze various aspects of the Prohibition Era such as local opinions regarding the Volstead Act, challenges and methods regarding local enforcement of the Prohibition Amendment, as well as the various punishments violators of dry laws received. Resources in this unit include images, newspaper articles, published letters to newspaper editors, as well as prisoner records.

Assessment: Students will analyze newspaper articles, editorials, and prisoner records using with the use of graphic organizers. They will also be creating their own collection of “Letters to the Editor” based on their own opinions regarding prohibition and current laws that impact the society in which they live.

Essential Questions/Enduring Understandings:

· What was life like in Champaign-Urbana before the passage of the Volstead Act?

· How did Champaign-Urbana’s attempt to be a Prohibition forerunner impact the local community?

· What were some average punishments for violating prohibition laws?

· Why did some Prohibition violators receive drastically different punishments?

· How were law enforcement officials challenged in their attempts to crack down on production, sale, and consumption of illegal liquor?

· What types of tactics did local law enforcement use to counteract the challenges they faced enforcing the prohibition of alcohol?

· How was the University of Illinois specifically impacted by the passage of the Prohibition Amendment?

· Does the presence of rules/laws incite or hinder deviant behavior?

· Is deviant behavior more acceptable when it is modeled by the majority of society?

· What inferences can be drawn about society and its viewpoints regarding Prohibition by examining local newspapers?

· Everyone has different views and justifications for their views regarding certain topics and just because people differ in opinion does not make one person right and one wrong.

Setting the Purpose: Many times teenagers feel that adults, especially teachers, are out to get them and that many rules/laws are put in place to specifically keep them from having fun and enjoying themselves. While many supported dry laws, Prohibition was a law that many citizens felt kept them from having fun and violated their personal rights. The purpose of this lesson is show students that many of the feelings they have today have been felt throughout the past and to then engage them in critical thinking about why specific laws are put in place and how they affect and incite various groups of society. This lesson is also designed to bring about a realization in students that past national events really did and currently do hit home and impact the society in which they live.

Lesson 1: Students will examine what life was like in Champaign County before the Volstead Act was passed and why the government and the majority of society at the time supported the passage of local dry laws.

Lesson 2: Students will examine various police methods used to fight against illegal liquor trafficking during the Prohibition Era and analyze why many local law enforcement officials faced tough difficulties when attempting to enforce dry laws. They will also examine County Sheriff Prisoner Records to see how violators of Prohibition were dealt with.

Lesson 3: Using the topic of Prohibition as a basis for analysis and critical thinking students will form and support their own opinion on the following question; does the presence of rules/laws incite or hinder deviant behavior?

Resources