Immigrants
As large amounts of immigrants came to America from Europe, supporters of the prohibition furthered their message by using the dislike of immigrants to convince other Americans that immigrants were destroying American culture and increasing problems in society and therefore to curb this imminent danger, prohibition was required.
Throughout the late 1800s and the early 1900s a massive amount of immigration from Europe resulted in a rapid change in American drinking habits. Beer became readily available, and American distilleries lagged in popularity. However, with the coming backdrop of World War I, the fight for National Prohibition progressed; suspicion and later hatred for different immigrant groups who were perceived to have strong drinking habits became embedded in the hearts of some Americans. Scorned by the conservative Anglo-Protestants with their conservative views, throughout the country groups such as the German and Irish were greatly stigmatized, especially those who were Catholic. Proponents of the prohibition movement used the general xenophobia of the nation, and the stereotyping of immigrants to progress their motives. They highlighted upon the fact that breweries were almost single-handedly controlled by German immigrants. Some brewers conducted all their business matters in their native German, while abandoning the language of this land, America. This was also augmented by the fact that in several cities such as Milwaukee, Cincinnati, and Baltimore, several schools taught in German, and their orchestras and theater productions often focused on German culture. Also in several of these cities with dense German populations, many of the inhabitants refused to learn English. This dissemination of German culture angered Americans of English descent, and furthered their vigor to enact prohibition. Furthermore, Americans thought the immigrants who mostly inhabited the cities were primarily responsible for crime, prostitution, and other negative behaviors within society. Single-handedly, the attack on the German-American culture, was one of the largest and most convenient tools that Prohibitionists used to further their cause. In addition, later on as American declared war on Germany, temperance groups especially the Anti-Saloon League, used this new found hostility to push their mission forward.
Watch Immigration in PROHIBITION America Multi Ethnic Nation on PBS. See more from Ken Burns.