Editor's Page

Abstract

Editor's Page Stephanie M. Lang 'The articles in this issue of the Register highlight a series of sweeping changes occurring not only in Kentucky but also nationally during the early and mid-twentieth century. Spurred on by political corruption and the consolidation of wealth in the hands of a few, reformers in the Progressive Era sought to inject morality back into society through a series of reforms. Punctuated by a back-and-forth between the forces of reform and reaction, the state had to navigate modernization. Within this environment, new ideas, mindsets, and lifestyles took root at an accelerated pace, but not all ventures fostered the intended outcomes. One example of a progressive reform that significantly altered Kentucky was Prohibition, which reshaped the bourbon industry. Although Congress celebrated bourbon in 1964 and recognized it as a distinctive product of the United States, temperance advocates in the first two decades of the twentieth century turned their energy to the prohibition of alcohol. In her article, "'America's Native Spirit': Prohibition and the Consolidation of the Kentucky Bourbon Industry," Bailey Browning chronicles the shutdown, impact on communities, and subsequent consolidation of the bourbon industry following repeal. Browning describes how many smaller, community-based distilleries permanently closed or were purchased by larger companies during this thirteen-year period. The industry that emerged utilized new strategies and technologies to produce bourbon for international markets. A failed experiment meant as a form of social control, Prohibition was repealed in 1933 as part of a larger effort to alleviate economic tensions during the Great Depression. [End Page 1] Modernism and fundamentalism also clashed in the early twentieth century over the teaching of evolution in schools and universities, signaling additional changes in the larger education system. After university enrollment plummeted during the Great Depression and World War II, an influx of students in the postwar period due to the G.I. Bill renewed issues over funding and curriculum. In "No Longer an 'academically inferior, church-controlled southern school': How Transylvania College Found Success After World War II," Jonathan Tyler Baker explores how Transylvania reconciled academic changes as a religiously affiliated institution. Seeking to move forward without depending entirely on funding from the Disciples of Christ, university administrators became policy-oriented fundraisers and campus builders. As Baker notes, the changes in higher education during this era could help us adapt as we move forward in a new digital age. The rapid speed of societal transformations during the twentieth century meant that adaptability was key for both the bourbon industry and Transylvania University. Refusing to buckle under the pressures of modernization, or shifting religious and political ideologies, both Transylvania University and the bourbon industry redefined themselves and emerged economically stronger. Today, Transylvania University is a renowned liberal arts college, while Kentucky produced two million barrels of bourbon in 2021 with a record 12 million aging in warehouses.1 [End Page 2] Footnotes 1. "Kentucky Distillers Set Records for Bourbon Barrel Inventories, New Fills—And Punishing Production Taxes," Kentucky Distillers' Association, September 27, 2022, available online via https://kybourbon.com/industry-news/kentucky-distillers-set-records-for-bourbon-barrel-inventories-new-fills-and-punishing-production-taxes/. Copyright © 2022 Kentucky Historical Society