by
Erin Chun
Between January of 1920 and April of 1933, all beverages with a higher alcoholic content than 0.5% were abolished from manufacture or sale. This was because of the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, which was passed because of a widespread fear of an "alcoholic republic"; it was believed that the Prohibition would deter alcoholism.
In the 1840's Neal Dow, a businessman in Portland, Maine saw that his community was debased by alcohol, prostitution and juvenile delinquency, and brought his concern to the public. He and others went to the state legislature, and persuaded them to ban the sale of alcohol in 1851. This "Maine Law" effectively spread to thirteen of the other thirty-one states by 1855.
In the battle for temperance, neither side gained an advantage over the other around the period of the Civil War. But beginning in the 1870's, protests began appearing in a larger scale, mostly headed by women. Frances Willard began the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which served as the platform for her views against alcohol.
By 1920, the 18th Amendment, the Prohibition amendment, was passed, following many states' actions towards closing saloons, and banning sale and transport of alcohol. But in 1933, the 21st Amendment found its way into legislation, repealing the 18th. This happened because of the mass bootlegging and protests that were occurring. The 18th Amendment was the first Amendment to be repealed.
Source: The Reader's Companion to American History, Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, ed. Houghton Mifflin.
Teacher: Ms. Budinger.
