GCSE History Coursework

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GCSE History Coursework

Assignment 2- was prohibition bound to fail?

(A) In source A reasons why prohibition was introduced were bad influence of saloons, the wartime concern for preserving grain for food and feelings against the German Americans who were important in brewing and distilling. In source B however reasons why prohibition was introduced is because of the women’s Christian temperance union. The two sources do not agree on why prohibition was introduced and both need to be treated with some caution.

However to some certain extent the sources do agree that the work of the anti-saloon league was a major reason why prohibition was introduced. These Christians saw the evils alcohol had on family life.

Both sources do agree on one other thing that prohibition led to massive amounts of organised crime and acts of violence. Source A doesn’t really explain fully why prohibition was introduced but rather gives possible explanations. In source B the reason why prohibition was introduced is clearly explained to be the action of the women’s Christian temperance union. It is fair to say though to some certain extent the two sources do agree on why prohibition was introduced because of the Women’s Christian temperance union and that they also agree the result of prohibition was an increase in organised crime. Overall however the two sources do not agree, but there are strong reasons to suspect that both are unreliable. To get a full picture of why prohibition was introduced you would need to consult a wider range of sources like C and D rather than just A and B alone.

(B) The artists of both posters are clearly for prohibition. Source C shows a happy bar tender receiving money in a bag from a man which is labelled ‘week’s wages’. In the bottom right hand corner of the poster the man’s wife and child is shown. The wife is holding her head in her hands on the table while the child has an empty bowl in front of him. At the top of the poster the title reads ‘the poor man’s club’. This means the families of the men go to this bar remain poor because the men spend all their weeks’ wages on alcohol. This point is repeated above the image of the wife and child the caption reads ‘the saloon is well named ‘the poor man’s club’ it keeps its members and their families always poor’. This image is distressing and is aimed to get sympathy for the families of these men and gain support for prohibition. At the bottom of the poster there words that read ‘slaves of the saloon’. The word slave is giving the idea that the men are addicted, influenced and controlled by alcohol. This is also showing that the man cannot go out of the habit of drinking alcohol and has no freedom what so ever and is very weak.

Source D shows two children waiting outside a bar the title at the top reads ‘Daddy’s in there’. The poster is designed to get sympathy for the children waiting outside the bar and turn against drinking alcohol. The word daddy is showing the youthful innocence of the children who are trying to seek their fathers love and affection that is not there for them. Both children are dressed in old ragged up clothes and are waiting for their father, which shows their love for him. The words beneath the poster read ‘And our shoes and stockings and food are in the saloon too, and they’ll never come out’. This shows that the father has wasted all his money and savings on alcohol that he cannot even afford to buy the basic necessities for his children.

Both posters were published at different times. Source C was published in 1910. While Source D was published in 1915. In 1910 the support for prohibition was not strong and the message of the poster should have been a lot clearer to emphasis the evils of alcohol. It was not until 1917 that American states started to put bans on alcohol. Source D has a clearer message this is probably due to the fact that by 1915 support for prohibition had grown and more people had become aware of the dangers of alcohol.

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Both posters show a hatred of alcohol and both artists are for prohibition. Source C shows the effects alcohol has on men on the wife and child, while source D solely shows the effects on children. Both artists are trying to show how prohibition will be a great help to everyone and how it will make peoples lives much better and that everyone will benefit from prohibition.

(C) Source E does support prohibition. It was written by John D.Rockefeller Jr who was a wealthy industrialist. However it was written 12 years after prohibition was first introduced in 1932. ...

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