Garrett Peck (historian)

And then he bribed people so he could have three or four times as much as that he could distribute than he was legally allowed to. So he made a fortune just by being able to sell alcohol without any taxes on it.

And then he bribed people so he could have three or four times as much as that he could distribute than he was legally allowed to. So he made a fortune just by being able to sell alcohol without any taxes on it.

He had a whole closet full of alcohol there he'd sell to everyone. And also people could come down and play cards with him. Mind you, this is a guy with a third grade education. And yet he was enormously charming. That's Garrett Peck again. He was on a first name basis with all these different congressmen. And they liked him. He knew how to put all the congressmen at ease.

He had a whole closet full of alcohol there he'd sell to everyone. And also people could come down and play cards with him. Mind you, this is a guy with a third grade education. And yet he was enormously charming. That's Garrett Peck again. He was on a first name basis with all these different congressmen. And they liked him. He knew how to put all the congressmen at ease.

They didn't have to sit there and talk politics. They could just come down and shoot the breeze with him and play some poker.

They didn't have to sit there and talk politics. They could just come down and shoot the breeze with him and play some poker.

The Anti-Saloon League, the main lobbyist organization for temperance, used this moment really to the umpteenth degree. That's historian Garrett Peck. They stigmatized alcohol, they turned beer drinking into treason, and they basically questioned the patriotism of every German American.

The Anti-Saloon League, the main lobbyist organization for temperance, used this moment really to the umpteenth degree. That's historian Garrett Peck. They stigmatized alcohol, they turned beer drinking into treason, and they basically questioned the patriotism of every German American.