On January 17, 1920, six armed men robbed a Chicago freight train.
But it wasn’t money they were after.
Less than one hour after spirits had become illegal throughout the United States, the robbers made off with thousands of dollars worth of whiskey.
It was a first taste of the unintended consequences of Prohibition.
The nationwide ban on the production and sale of alcohol in the United States came on the heels of a similar ban in Russia that started as a wartime measure during World War I.
But the view in the Western world of alcohol as a primary cause of social ills was much older.
It first gained traction during the Industrial Revolution as new populations of workers poured into cities and men gathered in saloons to drink.
By the 19th century, anti-drinking groups called temperance movements began to appear in the United States and parts of Europe.
Temperance groups believed that alcohol was the fundamental driver behind problems like poverty and domestic violence, and set out to convince governments of this.
While some simply advocated moderate drinking, many believed alcohol should be banned entirely.
These movements drew support from broad sectors of society.
Women’s organizations were active participants from the beginning, arguing that alcohol made men neglect their families and abuse their wives.
Religious authorities, especially Protestants, denounced alcohol as leading to temptation and sin.
Progressive labor activists believed alcohol consumption harmed workers’ ability to organize.
Governments weren’t strangers to the idea of prohibition, either.
In the United States and Canada, white settlers introduced hard liquors like rum to Native communities, then blamed alcohol for disrupting these communities— though there were many other destructive aspects of their interactions.
The American and Canadian governments banned the sale of alcohol to Native populations and on reservation land.
American temperance movements gained their first victories at the state and local levels, with Maine and several other states banning the sale and production of liquor in the 1850s.
In 1919 the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of all alcoholic beverages.
The amendment took effect a year later under the Volstead Act.
Since the act did not ban personal consumption, wealthy people took the opportunity to stock up while restaurants and bars rushed to sell their remaining supply.
Workers lost their jobs as distilleries, breweries, and wineries closed down.
Meanwhile, organized crime groups rushed to meet the demand for alcohol, establishing a lucrative black market in producing, smuggling, and selling illicit liquor.
Often they worked side-by side with corrupt policemen and government officials, even bombing the 1928 primary election for Illinois state attorney in support of a particular political faction.
Tens of thousands of illegal bars, known as "speakeasies," began serving alcohol.
They ranged from dingy basement bars to elaborate dance-halls.
People could also make alcohol at home for their own consumption, or obtain it legally with a doctor’s prescription or for religious purposes.
To prevent industrial alcohol from being consumed, the government required manufacturers to add harmful chemicals, leading to thousands of poisoning deaths.
We don’t know exactly how much people were drinking during Prohibition because illegal alcohol wasn’t regulated or taxed.
But by the late 1920s, it was clear that Prohibition had not brought the social improvements it had promised.
Instead it contributed to political corruption and organized crime and was flouted by millions of citizens.
At one raid on an Detroit beer hall, the local sheriff, mayor and a congressman were arrested for drinking.
With the start of the Great Depression in 1929, the government sorely needed the tax revenue from alcohol sales, and believed that lifting Prohibition would stimulate the economy.
In 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment repealing the 18th— the only amendment to be fully repealed.
Members of the temperance movements believed that alcohol was the root of society’s problems, but the reality is more complicated.
And while banning it completely didn’t work, the health and social impacts of alcohol remain concerns today.
This is really a two-hour presentation I give to high school students, cut down to three minutes.
And it all started one day on a plane, on my way to TED, seven years ago.
And in the seat next to me was a high school student, a teenager, and she came from a really poor family.
And she wanted to make something of her life, and she asked me a simple little question.
She said, "What leads to success?"
And I felt really badly, because I couldn't give her a good answer.
So I get off the plane, and I come to TED.
And I think, jeez, I'm in the middle of a room of successful people!
So why don't I ask them what helped them succeed, and pass it on to kids?
So here we are, seven years, 500 interviews later, and I'm going to tell you what really leads to success and makes TEDsters tick.
And the first thing is passion.
Freeman Thomas says, "I'm driven by my passion."
TEDsters do it for love; they don't do it for money.
Carol Coletta says, "I would pay someone to do what I do."
And the interesting thing is: if you do it for love, the money comes anyway.
Work!
Rupert Murdoch said to me, "It's all hard work.
Nothing comes easily.
But I have a lot of fun."
Did he say fun?
Rupert?
Yes!
(Laughter) TEDsters do have fun working.
And they work hard.
I figured, they're not workaholics.
They're workafrolics.
(Laughter) Good!
(Applause) Alex Garden says, "To be successful, put your nose down in something and get damn bensonnicole@example.net."
There's no magic; it's practice, practice, practice.
And it's focus.
Norman Jewison said to me, "I think it all has to do with focusing yourself on one thing."
And push!
David Gallo says, "Push yourself.
Physically, mentally, you've got to push, push, push."
You've got to push through shyness and self-doubt.
Goldie Hawn says, "I always had self-doubts.
I wasn't good enough; I wasn't smart enough.
I didn't think I'd make it."
Now it's not always easy to push yourself, and that's why they invented mothers.
(Laughter) (Applause) Frank Gehry said to me, "My mother pushed me."
(Laughter) Serve!
Sherwin Nuland says, "It was a privilege to serve as a doctor."
A lot of kids want to be millionaires.
The first thing I say is: "OK, well you can't serve yourself; you've got to serve others something of value.
Because that's the way people really get rich."
Ideas!
TEDster Bill Gates says, "I had an idea: founding the first micro-computer software company."
I'd say it was a pretty good idea.
And there's no magic to creativity in coming up with ideas -- it's just doing some very simple things.
And I give lots of evidence.
Persist!
Joe Kraus says, "Persistence is the number one reason for our success."
You've got to persist through failure.
You've got to persist through crap!
Which of course means "Criticism, Rejection, Assholes and Pressure."
(Laughter) So, the answer to this question is simple: Pay 4,000 bucks and come to TED.
(Laughter) Or failing that, do the eight things -- and trust me, these are the big eight things that lead to success.
Thank you TEDsters for all your interviews!
(Applause)