In November 1919, Kentucky voters narrowly approved a state constitutional amendment banning the sale and distribution of alcohol in the state two months before Prohibition began nationwide. Not until Jan. 17, 1920, did the Volstead Act take effect, making America, officially at least, a dry nation as provided by the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Prohibition returned as a topic of conversation earlier this month with the premiere on public television of Prohibition, a three-part documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns.
