Curated OER
The Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents
Students listen to the 18th Amendment. After a discussion on Prohibition, the groups determine if it was a success or a failure and present their findings to the class. They view political cartoons of the day and analyze their meaning.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Semantic Constitution
A review of the U.S. Constitution is presented by topics and concepts. A full list of topics gives an alphabetical listing, that when clicked, provides the actual text.
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum: Prohibition and the Constitution [Pdf]
Offers a lesson plan through which students create cartoons illustrating the reasons behind Prohibition and the repeal of Prohibition. It provides links to sources, student handouts, and a scoring rubric.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Wets & Drys
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Volstead Act and Related Prohibition Documents
Refer to the documents pertaining to Prohibition on this site when using the accompanying activities. In addition practice analyzing primary source documents with the worksheet that is provided.
PBS
Pbs: Prohibition: Lesson Plans
Provides four detailed lesson plans about Prohibition. The lesson plans include activities, student handouts, assessment and extension ideas, and video segments.
Other
Earliest Voices: William Jennings Bryan
This resource features historic voice recordings of William Jennings Bryan. There are recordings of many famous orations by him on various political topics, the most famous being his "Cross of Gold" speech. A biography and downloadable...
Brown University
Brown University Library Center: Alcohol, Temperance, and Prohibition
Features a collection of digitized original items from the Brown University Library relating to "Alcohol, Temperance & Prohibition" searchable by keyword, title, creator, or publisher.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Eighteenth and Twenty First Amendments Timeline
A timeline that documents the history of prohibition and its repeal in the United States. Each entry links to more information.
Other
Anti Saloon League Museum
From 1893 to 1933, the Anti-Saloon League was a major force in American politics. Influencing the United States through the printed word and lobbying, it turned a moral crusade into a Constitutional amendment. The League left a legacy of...
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: October 28: Gilbert H. Grosvenor & Volstead Act
Find a treasure trove of links in the Library of Congress to music, speeches, photographs, and other information about Gilbert H. Grosvenor, the editor of National Geographic Magazine, and about temperance, prohibition, and the eventual...
US National Archives
National Archives: Prohibition and Its Consequences
Was prohibition necessary to protect family values or was it an over-reach by the government? Students will debate this question while analyzing documents from this era. Documents include political cartoon, photos, letters from citizens,...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Prohibition
[Free Registration/Login Required] Learners read primary source documents to solve a problem surrounding a single historical question. This document-based inquiry lesson allows students to consider the 18th Amendment within the...
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: Nebraska Prohibits Alcohol
Alcohol consumption created many problems in Nebraska, but Prohibition introduced another plate of problems as explained here.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Eighteenth Amendment
The 18th amendment regarding the prohibition of intoxicating liquors, as it is worded in the U.S. Constitution. Annotations about the validity, enforcement, and repeal of the amendment are provided, as well as footnotes.
PBS
Pbs: Prohibition
Home page for the three-part documentary film series covering the rise, rule, and fall of Prohibition. Extensive coverage of the consequences and people of the area with links to a plethora of first-hand photos. Readers are given the...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Indomitable Spirits: Prohibition in the United States
Exhibition explores prohibition in the United States from the passing of the 18th Amendment in 1919 up to the passing of the 21st Amendment which ended prohibition in 1933
Digital History
Digital History: Prohibition
This is a very comprehensive discussion of Prohibition, the reasons supporters pushed for it, the problems with enforcement, and its failure. Read about anti-German sentiment as a reason for Prohibition, the increase in organized crime...
Cornell University
Cornell University: Law School: Constitution of the u.s.
The Constitution of the United States is provided by the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University of Law.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Eighteenth Amendment
Text of the 18th Amendment banning the sale of alcohol and a brief description of its meaning.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Prohibition Introduced
Check out this interactive timeline that documents the history of prohibition in the United States.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Prohibition
Looks at the Prohibition Era in the United States when it was illegal to sell or import alcoholic beverages. The ban was lifted when the 21st Amendment was passed in 1933.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of San Francisco: Rum Bribery Higherups Hunted as Plotters
This site from the Museum of the City of San Francisco provides an article from a prohibition-period newspaper that reports the new attack by prosecutors on policemen who have been bribed by bootleggers.
University of Chicago
University of Chicago: 1920s Prohibition 18th Amendment
This site is from the University of Chicago Library. Prohibition was a grand idea gone awry. This project looks at the implications and consequences of the 18th amendment and asks students to create their own ideal piece of federal...