When Women Banned the Bottle
The 17th century marked the early modern period in the Americas. The 13 colonies, which would later gain independence and become the world power, the USA, after territorial expansion and imperialism, were under British rule during the colonial era. The Church played a significant role in controlling people and native populations in various aspects of their lives. One such aspect was alcoholic beverages, a pretty controversial topic back then. Informal social controls, inspired by Christianity, were employed, with alcoholic abuse viewed as evil. Drunkenness was considered a personal moral failure rather than an inherent problem within a God-given gift of alcohol, just like food is not the problem but gluttony, or overeating, is. When informal social controls seemed to fail, the only option left was some legal change.
In March 1636, the legislature of New Somersetshire met at modern day Saco, Maine, and passed a law limiting the sale of "strong liquor or wyne," with exceptions for carvers and laborers on working days. In May 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts made the sale of strong liquor to Native Americans illegal.
Following the US independence following the American Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783), the "Whiskey Rebellion" took place in western Pennsylvania; the government had imposed taxes on whiskey to pay the national debt after independence. The whiskey tax, however, was later repealed when Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party, opposed to the Federalist Party, came to power in the year 1800.
The American Drunkards
Alcoholic consumption was a common practice in America, particularly by men, and was even widely considered to be vital for their health. Although alcohol, as we all know, has negative impacts on the nervous system and physiology of our bodies, causing high emotionality, loss of self control, and judgment impairment. In fact, no amount of alcohol is safe as per the WHO! Even domestic violence linked to alcohol was high in the USA, a trend even observable today. However, alcohol should not be viewed as an excuse for domestic violence against women; correlation is not necessarily causation. In fact abusers can be violent even when sober.
Women, on the other hand, embraced "true motherhood" and did not even touch a bottle of wine, which they believed was a threat to their families. In 1830, on an average, Americans consumed 1.7 bottles of hard liquor per week.
The Temperance Movement
When we think of the early feminist movements in the U.S., the right to vote usually comes to our minds. But long before suffrage, women had led another revolution, the revolution against alcohol. Drunk husbands were a nuisance to the families. Frustrated, women decided to do something about it. In 1826, the American Temperance Society (ATS) was established. It had around 1.5 million members by 1835. Its goal was to use moral persuasion, education, and abstinence pledges. Even literature was published for awareness. This marked the beginning of the prohibition movement, also known as the dry crusade. Gradually, it constituted calls for the prohibition of institutions related to alcohol, along with abstinence pledges. Reverend Mark A. Matthews, for instance, linked the liquor dispensing saloons to political corruption.
The Maine Law was adopted in 1851, banning the manufacture and sale of liquor. It was, however, repealed in 1856, but 12 other states followed its example. The American Civil War (1861 to 65) weakened the movement, but it was revived by the National Prohibition Party, established in 1869 and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) formed in 1874. The need for radical change was felt. Women thought of organizing protests, while their husbands laughed and mocked them. The protests took the form of prayers in front of saloons, launched within the ATS, especially the WCTU, to persuade the owners to close the bars. A humorous case was that of a radical member of the ATS, Carrie Nation, who rushed into saloons, scolding customers and destroying liquor bottles with a hatchet. She was arrested over 30 times because of this.
Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, 1918, State Library of South Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
A saloon's business model included offering free lunch with heavily salted food to induce thirst and create cravings for alcohol. During the Progressive Era, from 1890 to 1920, the "Anti Saloon League" began and gained relevance. Saloons were viewed as centers of crime, gambling, and prostitution. It is also worth noting that the Temperance Movement was linked to the suffrage movement for women as well, with alcohol blamed as one of the causes of these domestic problems.
Prohibition Timeline
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The year 1917: Woodrow Wilson was the US President back then, and World War I was raging in Europe. On April 6, 1917, the USA joined the war after the Zimmermann telegram from Germany asking Mexico to attack the USA was intercepted by Britain. The 18th Amendment was passed, establishing a nationwide ban on alcohol. Initially, it was temporary, particularly to stop alcohol from reaching the US soldiers.
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1919: The 18th Amendment was ratified, requiring approval from three quarters of U.S. states, making it constitutional. The Volstead Act provided the means to enforce the law.
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January 17, 1920: Nationwide Prohibition went into effect.
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1920 to 1933: The Prohibition Era lasted for 13 years.
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December 5, 1933: Prohibition ended under Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Also worth mentioning, women gained suffrage on August 18, 1920.
During the Prohibition Era
Prohibition was the legal prevention of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Despite this, millions of Americans who were addicted to alcohol were willing to drink illegally. Bootlegging, the illegal alcoholic production, and speakeasies, the illegal secret drinking establishments, began to flourish. These often led to organized criminal networks. Homicide rates skyrocketed, with an increase of over 90% in some cities.
The earliest bootleggers smuggled foreign liquor across the Canadian border in the North and the Mexican border in the South. The US Coast Guards became more active slowly, making smuggling a risky task. But a criminal always finds his way! Bottles of medicinal whiskey were sold legally but diverted to illegal markets.
Gang violence increased manifolds too. Gang groups like Al Capone's Chicago Outfit and Bugs Moran's North Side Gang engaged in territorial wars, turning cities like Chicago into something no less than warzones. Extreme violence and intense competition resulted in murders and the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre, where Al Capone's men, disguised as police, murdered seven members of the North Side Gang in 1929. The Italian Mafia and Irish Mobs saw the chaos as an opportunity to expand their influence. What began as a women-led moral movement turned into an era of turmoil, crime, and paradox, where the cure turned out to be worse than the disease!
Prohibition Repealed
In 1929, the stock market crashed leading to the Great Depression. The support for Prohibition dwindled. Moreover, revenue from alcohol was deemed necessary back then. The 21st Amendment was passed under the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending nationwide Prohibition on December 5, 1933.
One interesting phenomenon occurred. Women had begun drinking along with men too, both during and after Prohibition. We did want gender equality... but not in the wrong things. Jokes apart, why did this happen? Did women not despise alcohol and were they not a major part of the ATS? Liberal feminism had started becoming more relevant in the Western world, and gender roles were transforming. Prohibition had disillusioned everyone due to its disastrous consequences. The "wet" communities who already had sentiments against Prohibition, made it easier for women to access drinks. The male dominated saloons began to see women's participation.
Final Thoughts
So what did we learn from this historical account? Overall, it might seem to be a parody, but it was an event with far reaching consequences in American society. Gender roles evolved, mixed with anti prohibition sentiments. Prohibition began with the very noble cause of banning a harmful beverage, but outright bans imply that industries go more underground, which can be catastrophic in the long run. The same applies for sex work and the pornography industries. Women's activism achieved a constitutional amendment, yet the unintended consequences remind us that systemic problems require nuanced solutions, not just blanket prohibitions. The story of Prohibition teaches us that addressing social issues requires understanding root causes rather than simply criminalizing behavior.
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