Skip to main content
Buy Tickets
  • About
  • Contact
  • Constitution Daily Blog
  • Facility Rentals
  • Join & Support
  • Calendar
  • Search
National Constitution Center
  • Experience the center

    Exhibitions

    • Main
    • Feature
    • Past
    • Upcoming

    Programs

    • Daily Museum Programs
    • Evening Programs
    • Scout Days
    • Homeschool Week

    Initiatives

    • 10th Anniversary Celebration
    • Constitution Day
    • Address America
    • Liberty Medal
    • Sign the Constitution
  • Explore the Constitution
  • Learn

    Constitution
    Hall Pass

    Hall Pass

    Civic Holidays

    Civic Holidays

    Educational Resources

    • Lesson Plans
    • Activities
    • Games
    • Videos
    • Historical Documents

    Traveling History & Civics Program

    Professional Development

  • Plan Your Visit

    Tickets

    • Admission
    • Special Promotions

    Group Visits

    • Student & Youth Groups
    • Adult Groups
    • Booking Basics
    • Book Your Group

    Trip Essentials

    • Enrich Your Visit
    • Directions
    • Accessibility
    • Museum Store
    • Delegates' Cafe
    • Visit Historic Philadelphia

    Visitor Guide

    • English
    • 観光案内
    • 游客指南
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Español
    • Italiano
    • Nederlands
    • Português
Back
Home > Press Room > Press Kits > Exhibition & Event Press Kits > American Spirits Press Kit
American Spirits: The Rise And Fall Of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise And Fall Of Prohibition

October 19, 2012 – April 28, 2013

Step back in time to an era of flappers and suffragists, bootleggers and temperance lobbyists, and real-life legends like Al Capone and Carry Nation.

Created by the National Constitution Center, American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition is the first comprehensive exhibition about America’s most colorful and complex constitutional hiccup.

Spanning from the dawn of the temperance movement, through the Roaring ’20s, to the unprecedented repeal of a constitutional amendment, this world-premiere exhibition brings the whole story of Prohibition vividly to life.

Experience the Prohibition era through:

  • More than 100 rare artifacts including flapper dresses, authentic barware, temperance propaganda, and original ratification copies of the 18th and 21st Amendments
  • A re-created speakeasy where you can learn to Charleston
  • Films, music, photos, and multimedia exhibits including the dazzling Wayne Wheeler’s Amazing Amendment Machine, a 20-foot-long, carnival-inspired contraption that traces how the temperance movement culminated in the 18th Amendment
  • A custom-built video game where you serve as a federal agent tracking down rumrunners.


American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition is curated by Daniel Okrent, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

  • About The Exhibition

    About The Exhibition

    Lead Release

    Download
Press Kit

Press Kit

Lead Release
Exhibition Overview
Tour Schedule
Daniel Okrent Bio
NEH Fact Sheet
Programming
Partners

Press Images

Daniel Okrent

Daniel Okrent

Download Hi-Res JPG
Hatchet Used by Carry Nation, 1901

Hatchet Used by Carry Nation, 1901

From the Collection of the Kansas Historical Society.
Download Hi-Res JPG
A Moral and Physical Thermometer from An Inquiry into the Effects of Spirituous Liquors on the Human Body, 1790

"A Moral and Physical Thermometer"

Courtesy of the Library Company of Philadelphia
Download Hi-Res JPG
18th Amendment Congressional Resolution and Notification, 1917

18th Amendment Congressional Resolution and Notification, 1917

Courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives.
Download Hi-Res JPG
On loan from the Museum of American Political Life, University of Hartford.

"Mr. Dry" Bar Set, ca. 1920s

On loan from the Museum of American Political Life, University of Hartford.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Candlestick Telephone Used by Roy Olmstead, ca. 1920

Candlestick Telephone Used by Roy Olmstead, ca. 1920

Courtesy of the Allen Family.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Evening Dress, ca. 1925

Tunic-style Dress, 1923

Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Budweiser Beer Bottle, 1933

Budweiser Beer Bottle, 1933

Courtesy of the Anheuser-Busch Archives.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Anheuser-Busch Beer Case, 1933

Anheuser-Busch Beer Case, 1933

Courtesy of the Anheuser-Busch Archives.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Certificate of Priority, 1933

Certificate of Priority, 1933

Courtesy of the Anheuser-Busch Archives.
Download Hi-Res JPG
Prohibition Administrator Badge, 1931

Prohibition Administrator Badge, 1931

Courtesy of the Honorable Newton C. Taylor, executor of the estate of Blanche D. Pennington.
Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

National Constitution Center’s Speakeasy Silverliner Train Car

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

National Constitution Center’s Speakeasy Silverliner Train Car

Download Hi-Res JPG
American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

National Constitution Center’s Speakeasy Silverliner Train Car

Download Hi-Res JPG
More

Partners

  • NEH
  • 6abc
  • Fox29
  • Fox29

Learn More

  • Press Releases
    Press Releases

    Press Releases

    Get the latest news on what’s happening at the Center.

    More
  • Expert Sources
    Expert Sources

    Expert Sources

    The Center can connect journalists with experts on the Constitution and other topics.

    More
  • Polls & Publications
    Polls & Publications

    Polls & Publications

    Get insights from the annual AP-NCC poll, the PA Civic Health Index, and other timely reports.

    More
  • NCC in the News
    NCC in the News

    NCC in the News

    See a sampling of the Center’s recent coverage.

    More

Museum Hours

Monday - Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday: 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sunday: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Directions
Directions

525 Arch Street

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106

215.409.6600

Get Email Updates from the NCC

Sign up for our E-Newsletter

NCC Partners

  • NPS
  • IVC
  • PCVB
  • Visit Philly
  • Historic Philadelphia
  • Follow Us @ConstitutionCtr
  • Like Us On Facebook11,699 like this
  • READ Constitution Daily
  • LISTEN to Podcasts
  • CHECK US OUT on TripAdvisor
  • Follow us on Instagram

Visitor Guide

  • English
  • 観光案内
  • 游客指南
  • Français
  • Deutsch
  • Español
  • Italiano
  • Nederlands
  • Português
  • About
  • Contact
  • Join Our Team
  • Members
  • Privacy
  • Press Room
  • Traveling Exhibitions

Search