Introduction
It was Saturday evening and the Adler family was getting ready for family game night. John Adler the “man of the house” came home from drinking with his guy friends. As John’s wife Linda and their two kids Andrew and Beth were getting ready to play a family board game called The Man in the Moon, John walks in the living room completely drunk. He tries to kiss his wife but Linda turns her head. This upsets John and makes him aggressive. He looks at his kids and then at the board game they set up. He swings his arm to knock down the game set. This scares his kids and his wife. Linda calls the police and they take him in for the night. As you can see from this scenario alcohol destroys families in the eyes of the “woman of the house.” The idea that women do not like being under the same house with a drunken husband led to the Women’s Temperance Movement. This advocate group was one of the influential factors that led to the 18th amendment which prohibited the manufacturing, selling, transporting, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages. There is a photograph of ten women with a sign saying, “Lips that touch liquor shall not touch ours." [1] This clearly shows that women with a husband and a family were against alcohol. Groups that were against alcohol were called the dry forces. Dry forces included Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1974), Prohibition Party (1869), and Anti-Saloon League (1893). These three groups influenced the passage of the 18th amendment also known as the Volstead Act. [2] The church had a major impact passing the 18th amendment as well. According to an article titled "A Temperance Talk" written by Reverend Peterson, he describes "wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." [3] This shows that the church community is clearly not in favor of alcohol. They believe that drinking excessive alcohol for ones pleasure is a sin. They see nothing good in alcohol. The church community believed that the use of alcohol should only be used for religious purposes. Reverend Peterson personifies alcohol as a mocker meaning that it causes emotional distress, pain, and annoyance to the people around them. His views on alcohol was influential to the passage of the 18th amendment. The church community is known to be powerful when it comes to persuading a decision they believe is the moral thing to follow.
The most common reasons why prohibition evolved were because of medical, economic, political, and social aspects. Too much alcohol damages people’s health which can eventually lead to death. This meant that some children had to live their lives without a mother or father (specially a father because men were known to be the heavy drinkers) which led to financial and psychological problems. Alcohol affected United States economically because when workers got drunk the night before they have work they could not perform the job properly. Workers were often absent due to being hung-over. Another economic reason was that the United States would buy beer that came from Germany which caused the flow of money to go overseas. The political aspect of why prohibition was passed was because politicians promised to back up prohibition. It is because politicians are supposed to follow what is morally right and passing prohibition was believed to be the moral thing to do. The social aspect of why prohibition was passed was because husbands were spending their family's saving on alcohol instead of necessities. This problem led to family arguments which led to divorce. [4] As you can see some people saw alcohol as a negative facet that is why the dry groups and politicians believed that prohibition would be best for the nation...Prohibition sought to strengthen family values in an attempt to decrease domestic violence and increase household income. However, prohibition resulted in the illegal transportation of alcohol, the illegal selling of alcohol, and led to corruption through the form of organized crime in the United States.
[1] Word Press. "Anti Saloon League." Last modified December 19, 2011. Antisaloonleague.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/lips-that-touch-liquor/
[2] Digital History. "Prohibition." Accessed March 27, 2013.
Digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smID=2&psid=3383
[3] Rev. Peterson, J.D. “A Temperance Talk.” The African-American Experience in Ohio. The Ohio Historical Society. Accessed March 27, 2013.
[4] Think Quest. "Causes of Prohibition." Accessed March 27, 2013. Library.thinkquest.org/28892/prohibition/why/
Introduction
It was Saturday evening and the Adler family was getting ready for family game night. John Adler the “man of the house” came home from drinking with his guy friends. As John’s wife Linda and their two kids Andrew and Beth were getting ready to play a family board game called The Man in the Moon, John walks in the living room completely drunk. He tries to kiss his wife but Linda turns her head. This upsets John and makes him aggressive. He looks at his kids and then at the board game they set up. He swings his arm to knock down the game set. This scares his kids and his wife. Linda calls the police and they take him in for the night. As you can see from this scenario alcohol destroys families in the eyes of the “woman of the house.” The idea that women do not like being under the same house with a drunken husband led to the Women’s Temperance Movement. This advocate group was one of the influential factors that led to the 18th amendment which prohibited the manufacturing, selling, transporting, importing, and exporting of alcoholic beverages. There is a photograph of ten women with a sign saying, “Lips that touch liquor shall not touch ours." [1] This clearly shows that women with a husband and a family were against alcohol. Groups that were against alcohol were called the dry forces. Dry forces included Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1974), Prohibition Party (1869), and Anti-Saloon League (1893). These three groups influenced the passage of the 18th amendment also known as the Volstead Act. [2] The church had a major impact passing the 18th amendment as well. According to an article titled "A Temperance Talk" written by Reverend Peterson, he describes "wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." [3] This shows that the church community is clearly not in favor of alcohol. They believe that drinking excessive alcohol for ones pleasure is a sin. They see nothing good in alcohol. The church community believed that the use of alcohol should only be used for religious purposes. Reverend Peterson personifies alcohol as a mocker meaning that it causes emotional distress, pain, and annoyance to the people around them. His views on alcohol was influential to the passage of the 18th amendment. The church community is known to be powerful when it comes to persuading a decision they believe is the moral thing to follow.
The most common reasons why prohibition evolved were because of medical, economic, political, and social aspects. Too much alcohol damages people’s health which can eventually lead to death. This meant that some children had to live their lives without a mother or father (specially a father because men were known to be the heavy drinkers) which led to financial and psychological problems. Alcohol affected United States economically because when workers got drunk the night before they have work they could not perform the job properly. Workers were often absent due to being hung-over. Another economic reason was that the United States would buy beer that came from Germany which caused the flow of money to go overseas. The political aspect of why prohibition was passed was because politicians promised to back up prohibition. It is because politicians are supposed to follow what is morally right and passing prohibition was believed to be the moral thing to do. The social aspect of why prohibition was passed was because husbands were spending their family's saving on alcohol instead of necessities. This problem led to family arguments which led to divorce. [4] As you can see some people saw alcohol as a negative facet that is why the dry groups and politicians believed that prohibition would be best for the nation...Prohibition sought to strengthen family values in an attempt to decrease domestic violence and increase household income. However, prohibition resulted in the illegal transportation of alcohol, the illegal selling of alcohol, and led to corruption through the form of organized crime in the United States.
[1] Word Press. "Anti Saloon League." Last modified December 19, 2011. Antisaloonleague.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/lips-that-touch-liquor/
[2] Digital History. "Prohibition." Accessed March 27, 2013.
Digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smID=2&psid=3383
[3] Rev. Peterson, J.D. “A Temperance Talk.” The African-American Experience in Ohio. The Ohio Historical Society. Accessed March 27, 2013.
[4] Think Quest. "Causes of Prohibition." Accessed March 27, 2013. Library.thinkquest.org/28892/prohibition/why/