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#200 Planet Money: The Moonshine Stimulus

#200 Planet Money: The Moonshine Stimulus

Planet Money vor 16 Jahren

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Historians say it was the spring waters that brought President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Warm Springs, Georgia, in the 1920's. FDR, who suffered from polio, was said to have used the springs for physical therapy. Around town however, another story circulates, FDR was fond of the region's moonshine.

On today's Planet Money, we travel to Warm Springs to find out if the rumors are true. Did FDR really buy moonshine during Prohibition? Did he really violate the Constitution he had sworn to protect?

In our quest for truth, we meet the daughter of FDR's favorite fiddle player and an economist, who explains how Prohibition, a divisive moral issue, became a celebrated business stimulus plan.