Prohibition

14 Pages 3604 Words

an early age. They WCTU fought for many causes. (Shultz 4) They represented most progressive reform groups of the day. Under the leadership of reformer Francis Willard, the national president of the union from 1879-1898, the WCTU took up the causes of suffrage, the 8-hour work day, prison reform, and the social gospel. They made temperance attractive to numerous reformers. Progressivists viewed prohibition as a way to attack the bosses of urban political machines.
In contrast to the WCTU, the Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1896, focused only on the prohibition of alcohol. They did everything they could to stop saloons from being able to operate. They were the pioneers of modern day lobbying techniques. They printed up anti-drinking brochures appealing to church members, law makers, and businessmen. They thought that if they could get those people to be against alcohol then they would set a moral example for others in their communities. They were very good at persuading. By the year 1918 they had convinced 28 states to have prohibition laws before national prohibition even took effect. Even though they did not stop people from drinking, it was a great accomplishment for them. (Shultz 5)
The history of the brewing industry and the history of the prohibition movement were closely related. Brewing became a big business in the later part of the 1800’s. The German immigrants brought beer to the United States. They would make homemade brews and sell it to those who lived around them. It proved popular. After 1890 was the principal alcoholic beverage in the American market out doing the distilled spirits.
The technological changes like the railroad, telegraph, and mechanical refrigeration enabled the growth of "big business" in the food manufacturing, processing and distribution industries. This also allowed some enterprising brewers to build very large firms capable of large production volumes and wide distributio...