Wisconsin History Day By Day


Related Web Sites:
Kenesaw Mountain Landis

Why prohibition failed


Read More About It

"The Moonshine War" by Elmore Leonard

"Judge Landis and Twenty-Five Years of Baseball" by J.G. Spinks


Vocabulary:

prohibition
moonshiners
probe


Interesting Fact:

One month before the drive against moonshiners, K.M. Landis was asked by the major league baseball owners to become the first commissioner of baseball. He held that post until his death in 1944.


Study Questions:

  • Were moonshiners a big problem in Wisconsin during Prohibition?
  • When was the state Prohibition Department organized? What was its purpose?
  • What was the reputation of Landis as a judge and as the baseball commissioner?


    U.S. historical events that occurred on December 23:

    1823: Clement Moore publishes his "A Visit from St. Nicolas" in the Troy Sentinel.
    1986: The first nonstop trip around the world without refueling is completed by the airplane Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.



  • December 23

    December 23,1920: The state Prohibition Department launched a drive that was to net several arrests of Madison moonshiners. The raids were a result of a federal grand jury probe headed by Judge K.M. Landis in La Crosse earlier in the month.


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