Okrent demonstrates that one of the many movements which forced Prohibition into a reality was the growing power of the women’s suffrage political movement. In 1916, the ASL (Anti-Saloon League) began to endorse woman’s suffrage (65). Prior to this, Okrent demonstrates how the rise of the suffrage movement was directly linked to Prohibition, which was also quickly gaining popularity (14). Okrent demonstrates that in the social sphere, women and children were often mistreated by the men in the home, who would drink to excess and become violent or perhaps spend the family’s money on alcohol (17). Another contributing movement, Okrent states, was that of the Protestants.
The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was a driving force in Progressive Reform and set a standard for ordinary women to participate in political activism. After the Civil War, there was an increase in violence at saloons and perpetrated by husband against wife. In response, a national temperance movement began with local groups of women organizing to support prohibition. The establishment of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1874 marked a significant turning point, as women across the nation united in their support for temperance and rallied for legislative measures to curtail the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The WCTU believed that alcohol abuse was a major factor contributing to domestic violence.
Stayton argues that Prohibition has had the opposite of its desired effect on the morals of the nation. Stayton claims that consumption of alcoholic beverages was at a higher point in 1925 than its peak pre-Prohibition. Stayton presents several facts to support his claim, showing a rise in consumption among not just men, but women and children, combined with an increase in moneys spent on alcoholic drinks to the tune of four-fold (p. 195). Furthermore, Stayton cites that the drinks available in the time of Prohibition have a substantially greater alcohol content than those that were served pre-Prohibition. This allows alcohol to be more readily abused and caused an observable increase in public drunkenness.
First and foremost, the union supported prohibition, but over time abstinence from drugs and tobacco, the reform of labor laws and prison conditions, and woman’s suffrage garnered their attention. In the years since, the union’s central focus has once again become promoting and educating people on the benefits of abstaining from alcohol. The group’s first president,
Women and children who were part of domestic violence often blamed alcohol for the events they had gone through. Men who thoroughly enjoyed alcohol fought to get rid of the amendment. There were two sides of this new amendment one for and one against. Both had many supporters and both parties had strong opinions for it. However, at the end of Prohibition’s reign a strong consensus were strongly for the removal of this
During the nineteenth century, reform movements in the United States led to an expansion of democratic ideals from 1825 to 1855. Throughout the Antebellum period there was a focus on forming a better individual and society. This was exemplified through the increased interest in religion, medicine, education reforms, transcendentalism, abolitionism, and women’s rights. One such powerful reform, the Second Great Awakening, brought about a crusade against personal immorality. Some advocated for temperance because they believed that with an apparently innocent “glass with a friend”, the young man rises step by step to the summit of drunken revelry, then declines to desperation and suicide while his abandoned wife and child grieve (Doc 4).
The progressive reform that had the greatest impact on American society was the 18th Amendment which made the producing, transporting, or selling of alcohol prohibited. It all began when the Anti-Saloon party gained an advantage during World War I. Women who began these reforms gained support because of their influence on the workforce. If the women had not helped by working men’s jobs during the war, it would not have been as easy. Another aspect of the war that contributed to the amendment's publication was the limited resources available. Since alcohol was made of food sources, many saw it as a waste of food supply that could have been used for “our boys at war”.
In the other hand Gordon, John Steele says, “In H. L. Menken’s words, that “somebody somewhere may be happy”—was to cut down on drunk driving. And that has happened in the last three decades. But this good development did not come about because of this law. Instead, it came about because of, 1) a lowering of the standard for impaired driving from a blood alcohol level of .1 percent to .08, 2) greatly increased penalties for drunk driving (in 42 states today, the first conviction for drunk driving results in a suspension of one’s driver’s license) and, 3) a lower per capita consumption of alcohol (the three-martini lunch is, today, largely ancient history)”. This author defends his point of view on the grounds that increasing the age
The progressives were successful in meeting their goals of reforming the United States socially, politically, and industrially. Progressives were average people who attempted to solve problems. There were many progressives for a wide range of problems. Progressives assisted in revolutionizing the United States and achieving justice for many Americans.
During the late 1800’s a seemingly impossible uphill battle for equality and rights gained a new ally in the Progressive Movement, whose main goal was to enact reform in a practical, plausible way. Before this Movement social conditions were worsening across the United States and inequality in politics ran rampant, to spread the news of this new forms of media and campaigning arose, and after the Progressive Movement ran its course it left a drastic imprint on the history of American reform. This era is famous for its changes and philosophies that governed America and its people such as the argument between Conservationists and Preservationists or the issue of tariffs that had persisted since the birth of the United States, but what the Progressive
In the early 1800’s, Americans were beginning to reform and revolutionize the world they lived in. At this time, America was recovering from the aftermath of the financial and emotional effects of the War of 1812 and the Bank Wars. Considering the cleanliness of drinking water was not high, many people resorted to drinking distilled liquids. The amount of economical stress placed on men in the time lead them to overuse these distilled drinks, also known as alcohol, leading to issues within the home, such as abuse and women’s control of the household. Two main reforms that took place to correct these issues were the Cult of Domesticity and the Temperance movement.
Groups such as the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union fought to rid society of alcoholism. Initially, this movement created dry communities that prevented citizens from selling
The progressive movement that took place from 1890-1920 aimed to correct injustices in American life as well as restore economic opportunities. Through the hard work and persistence of all people involved, this movement was fairly successful in achieving its main goals of protecting social welfare, promoting moral improvement, and creating economic reform. Many people in this time fought to protect social welfare. More specifically, the intense and harsh working conditions for industrial workers.
The progressives of the late 1800s and early 1900s may not have been a society or a union, but they were united under a common cause. That common cause was the need for change, and not just small changes; but the need for changes at the local, state, and national level. As they are now, things were far from perfect during the Progressive Era, and progressives sought to improve social welfare, worker rights, conservation of the country’s resources, and more. Of all of the issues with the United States’ social welfare in the early 1900s, the circumstances of child labor were arguably the worst.
Officials wanted the prohibition to eradicate crime and preserve the sanctity of the population, as seen in the illustration of alcohol's eventual downward spiral in Document #4. The illustration was made during the heart of the Temperance Movement to protest the “Alcoholic Republic.” Furthermore, Dorothea Dix’s fight against mental institution care and prison facilities led to yet another reform. The poor
