The USA: Was prohibition bound to fail?

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Joseph Fitzpatrick – “Was prohibition bound to fail?”

History GCSE Coursework – The USA: Was prohibition bound to fail?

  1. Study sources A and B. How far do these two accounts agree about prohibition?

Both source A and source B agree that the influence of the anti-saloon league was a major cause of the commencement of the prohibition law. Source A states “...among possible explanations we must include... the influence of the anti-saloon league at a time when large numbers of men were absent in the armed forces...” and source B indicates “...in 1917 a nation-wide campaign, led by the anti-saloon league, brought pressure...” – In addition to this, both sources agree that the main concept associated with anti-drinking feelings of the time was that of morality – source A argues that “...most important of all was the moral fervour...” and source B says that alcoholism was “one of the great evils of the times”. Finally, both sources agree about the prosperity of gangsters and rapid increase in crime after the introduction of prohibition to the constitution; source A expresses that prohibition “...created the greatest criminal boom in American history, and perhaps in all modern history...” and source B says that “Gangsters... had turned the avoidance of prohibition into big, violent business.”

As well as a great deal of inter-source agreement, there are also several disagreements. Unlike source B - which states specifically that the “nation-wide campaign” was “led by the anti-saloon league” – source A lists many different explanations, and also proclaims that the most important reason was the “moral fervour inspired by the ‘war the make the world safe for democracy’”. In addition to this, source A claims “twenty-three states had already introduced a ban on alcohol” whereas source B calls the desire for prohibition “a nation-wide campaign” – There were 48 states in America at this time, and it could be said that 23/48 states doesn’t validate the term “nation-wide campaign”.

Overall, the 2 sources agree on most facts, despite the reality that they state different things relating to relatively minor details.

  1. Study sources C and D. Were the artists of these two posters for or against prohibition?

The artist of the poster in source C is ostensibly for prohibition – their poster appears to suggest that alcoholism is a clear “evil”. In the bottom-right hand corner of the picture, there is a smaller picture of a woman and child – The woman is crying and the child has no food. The caption in this smaller picture satirically reads “the saloon is well named ‘the poor man’s club’ it keeps its members and their families always poor” – this suggests that the existence of saloons is a primary cause of poverty among the working class. This is also backed up by the cartoonish tag attached to the bag of money the patron hands to the barman – “week’s wages”. In addition to this, there is gambling going on in the background, and a greedy look on the barman’s face. Finally, the title of the cartoon reads “slaves of the saloon” – these details back up the main campaigns of the women’s Christian temperance union at the time – associating alcohol with poverty, gambling, and greed, as well as associating gambling and greed with evil to create a chain of association in people’s minds, leading to people believing alcohol is a direct cause of “evil”. Additionally, the poster was published in 1910 – one of the first years in which prohibition gained major support.

The artist of the poster in source D is also evidently for prohibition, assuming their poster corresponds with their own beliefs. The children in the picture are wearing what would at the time have been considered very poor and substandard clothing. The doors of the saloon are western-style (drinking was considered to be the biggest problem on the west coast), and most importantly of all, the caption reads “Daddy’s in There--- and our shoes and stockings and food are in the saloon too, and they’ll never come out.” – using emotional blackmail to convince those who look at the poster that drinking destroys families, and making them feel bad about this. Because of the large amount of problems associated with drinking on the west coast, prohibition supporters used stories of broken families in this area for their campaigning.

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  1. Study sources E and F. Which of these two sources is the more reliable as evidence about prohibition?

Source E, an extract of a letter written by John D. Rockefeller, appears to be very reliable. It says that “Drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon... and crime has increased to a level never seen before” – this is true as there were in fact more speakeasies in New York during prohibition than there were saloons before prohibition. There was also a great deal of crime going on during the period of prohibition. Rockefeller’s statement is also ...

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