The Mob Museum: The Blog: If you’re looking for some ideas, or just interesting articles about American vice, then this is a good place to start. They have articles dating all the way back to 2012. It’s not a deep-dive, like an online archive, or library, but it’s still pretty interesting. If you want to check out the museum, head to the place you’d expect this museum to be, Las Vegas.

Alcohol, Temperance, and Prohibition: Brown University Digital Library: The Temperance movement ultimately led to Prohibition in the 1920s. Banning alcohol sales in the US had a catastrophic effect, bringing forth the heyday for organized crime who took advantage of the opportunity to move illegal alcohol. This primary source collection showcases the propaganda that led to the successful banning of alcohol in 1919.

The Old Bailey Online: The Proceedings, 1674-1913: This one isn’t just perfect for researching vice, it’s the ultimate treasure trove for anyone studying true crime as a whole. I’ll probably share this link in multiple research resource guides. It is a collection of court records from London’s Central Court. Nearly 200,000 court records cover any range of crime you thought possible. Be sure to consult their research guide for finding what you’re looking for. It’s a big place, easy to get lost! Especially getting lost down a rabbit hole!

The Wellcome Collection: Online Resources: This London museum houses a massive collection of materials related to the history of human health. Using their collections tab, search any topic you can think of related to vice, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, or anything else you can think of. It’s a good place to start researching these topics, leading you to primary sources, books, images, and other items of interest.

The Westerville Public Library Anti-Saloon League Collection: Founded in 1893, the Anti-Saloon League became one of the most powerful activist groups in the entire United States. If you’re wondering why this collection is in Westerville, Ohio, it’s because the league was headquartered there, giving the Westerville the moniker, “The Dry Capital of the World.” Just like the Brown University site listed above, the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) collection is filled with extensive propaganda materials used to pressure politicians and ultimately the United States as a whole to ban the sale of alcohol. This paved the way for a massive expansion of organized criminal activities in the US. The iconic era of the American gangster we’ve all seen in movies, TV, books, comics, etc stems from the advent of Prohibition.

Indomitable Spirits: Digital Public Library of America. First off, the DPLA is an incredible resource in its own right. Libraries from around the country collaborate to bring you the DPLA, resulting in MILLIONS, no forgive me, TENS of millions of free, online, publicly available resources, including millions of primary sources. The Indomitable Spirits exhibition is a great overview of the Temperance movement and prohibition. Alcohol plays a big part in American history, especially the History of Vice, so head on over to this exhibit to give yourself a great overview of alcohol’s influence on American History.

Dreaming the Skyline: University of Nevada Las Vegas Digital Collections: When you think vice, you have to think Vegas. Vegas kind of became the Vice Epicenter of the United States. This digital collection takes you back to the nostalgic days of early Vegas’ rise with a lot of amazing resources, photos, articles, etc. about the Vegas throughout the years.

FBI Records: The Vault: The FBI Vault website definitely feels dated (think websites circa 2002), but it is still a vat of amazing resources if you want to check out some info on American Vice, Organized Crime, and other aspects of American crime. The link above gets you into their “search tips” page, which is always a great place to start, just to get a handle on how the site works. On the right-hand side, there’s a column of categories to make basic research easier.

The Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library (Harvard University): The website says this collection is the world’s largest private collection on “altered states of mind.” They list over 50,000 documents on the history of drugs and materials related to their psychoactive effects.

Before you keep scrolling: History on a Whim is funded solely by visitor donations. A lot of hard work goes into finding, organizing, and curating resources. If you’d like to support my work, consider giving a one-time donation to keep the site up and running. Or, please share the site with anyone who would be interested!

The Lloyd Seely Library Digital Collections at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice: This extensive library collection is focused on crime and punishment throughout the History of New York City. America’s largest city has an abundance of historical records related to these topics. It’s a great place to go down a deep rabbit hole, or to do some deep, fascinating research.