Prohibition gained its early supporters from the southern Bible belt and rural areas where it was believed that alcohol abuse was mainly in the rapidly growing industrial cities. The majority of these people were Protestants who believed in hard working values. Drinkers were thought of as bad workers and their habits offended the Christian morals of Protestants.
By the 1850s individual states were already beginning to introduce bans on alcohol. In 1851 Maine was the first to place temporary bans on alcohol, a lead followed by many that led to 13 out of the 31 states having prohibition laws in place by 1855.
Support for prohibition declined during the American Civil War as attention was distracted away from it. Many early state laws were modified or ignored. To try and regain support more powerful prohibitionist organisations were created. In 1869 the National Prohibition Party, which presented candidates for political office, was founded. In 1874 the Women’s Christian Temperance Union was formed by a group of protestant women and in 1893 ‘drys’ established the Anti-Saloon League. These societies believed alcohol to be the root of family neglect and poverty and campaigned for prohibition by promoting their views to the rest of America. They had mottos such as “sin like gin” and “the saloon must go” to gain support and spread their feelings through posters, protests, newspaper articles and speeches.
As the prohibition issue grew business owners, backed the movement. They believed that without alcohol their employees would become more disciplined and productive. Wealthy businessmen such as Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller contributed large amounts of money for ‘dry’ causes. John Rockefeller poured over $400,000 into the Anti-Saloon League.
In 1892 a presidential election occurred. Politicians began to support prohibition to gain more votes. Political candidates from the National Prohibition Party also contested the election. Many states now had prohibition laws and it was deemed economic sense to make it Federal law. Many people became supporters in the belief that a change in drinking habits would help the large numbers of recent immigrants to become more American.
In the 1900s scientific, medical research proved that alcohol damaged the health of drinkers and also harmed the foetus, the unborn child. The prohibitionist groups promoted this idea and believed there would be a reduction in crime, as there would be less people under the influence of alcohol.
When America entered World War 1 in 1917, the prohibition campaign received a boost due to hostility to Germany. Prohibition was considered a patriotic sacrifice, as grain used in the manufacture of alcohol was needed for food supplies, while beer brewing and drinking was seen as a German trait.
The World War had brought the final, convincing argument for prohibition. By December 1917 a Congressional resolution proposing a Prohibition Amendment to the Constitution was passed by the required two-thirds majority. This prohibited the sale, manufacture, transportation, import and export of alcohol. This Amendment was approved in 1919 and put into force under the Volstead Act on the 16th January 1920.
