Political and Religious Activists
The political and religious movements in support of the Prohibition, created a widespread national social movement that convinced Americans to rethink drinking habits and their view on drinking, and as a result brought large organized groups of people together who in the end were able to establish National Prohibition.
Politics and the Prohibition
Formed in 1885 the Anti-Saloon League attempted to combat the growing amount of saloons throughout America. Closely tied to evangelical Protestant denominations, the Anti-Saloon League took on an essential economic and political role in the National Prohibition movement. Efficiently run, the board members of the League wrote bills that would be proposed, increased their public appeal, lobbied members of Congress, and orchestrated several protests throughout the country. Under the popular motto "The Saloon Must Go!" they held the uncompromising belief that saloons were incompatible with American society. It was noted that "All saloons were dangerous and corrupt institutions that tempted men to neglect their families and served as magnets for society's least desirable elements" (Slaverick 29). However, in the end their only goal was not to abolish the saloons, but to do away with any notion of alcohol in society. To accomplish these goals their two main aims were to establish to new prohibition legislature, and to enforce existing prohibitory laws. In the end, instead of aligning with the already existent Prohibition Party, they initiated a radical attempt to implant politicians who could accomplish their goals in the Democratic or Republican parties. With groundbreaking fundraising ability, the ASL was able to proliferate throughout American society, visiting churches, distributing pamphlets, and campaigning for candidates who would represent their core values in the local and national government. In addition, the ASL was able to increase their widespread appeal, because they generally supported women's suffrage; aid to immigrants; improvement in workplace condition; and an end to monopolies. The Anti-Saloon League had one of the most direct impact on the beginning of the the Prohibition, because they created a political system necessary to produce candidates who would support their cause, as well as represent the ASL in the national government; all by swaying the minds of American voters. As an result voters would vote those candidates into their respective local governments or the United Sates Congress.
Religion and the Prohibition
One of the largest contributors to the national fight for Prohibition was the religious movement which pointed out the moral "ills" associated with alcohol consumption. Although having been in preaching about the evils of drinking for decades before, ministers began speaking out in large numbers in the early 20th century against alcohol consumption. They argued that "intemperance fostered ungodliness, disease and death, destroying both body and soul" (Bryce). They also associated drinking with increased crime rates, gambling, prostitution, wrecking homes, destitution, as well as lowering the morality of America in general. To strengthen their message, religious groups cited example of drunkenness in the Bible such as Noah and Belshazzar . Creating a new religious campaign which promoted the belief that alcohol consumers were on the "road to hell", many religious groups created advertisements, magazines, and temperance literature. This message that religious leaders spread was important, as it related well to the large amount of Evangelicals in America. Using the Bible they were able to provide a plethora of concrete examples where drunkenness was strongly denounced, as well as examples of the problems drunkenness caused. Also since people regularly attended church, the pulpit was a convenient place where the anti-drinking beliefs could be preached to thousands of regular church attendees.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas, lying on top of the rigging. “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt! They beat me, but I don’t feel it! When will I wake up so I can find another drink?” (New International Bble, Prov. 23. 29-35)
|
Billy Sunday Among several other thing in his life time including a popular player in the Major Leagues of baseball and a former alcoholic, Billy Sunday became a popular figure in the push for National Prohibition. Traveling throughout the country, Sunday, was an outgoing evangelical preacher who spoke against the evils of alcohol. With animated body language, the utilization language related to baseball and football, and a simple direct message about hell and damnation which resulted from drinking; Sunday was able to start a social movement that spread across America denouncing the consumption of alcohol. This style of preaching appealed to Evangelical Christians, especially those in rural America, as well as attracted new followers to support the prohibition movement. Preachers such as Sunday, brought the Prohibition to fruition by convincing Americans that drinking was responsible for every vice that they saw in their community. |
"The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent." --Billy Sunday