Indomitable Spirits: Prohibition in the United States

Quenching the National Thirst

Police from Division 9 with casks seized during Prohibition

1 negative : glass, black & white ; 4 x 5 in.

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Photograph of crowd at Lowndes County Courthouse, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 1907 June 24

Valdosta, June 24, 1907. Crowd gathered at Lowndes County Courthouse during vote concerning prohibition. Note the banner with its message. This photograph was taken by The Wilson Studio Company which was located at Valdosta, Georgia at the time the photograph was taken.

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/vang/id:low072

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Influenced by the growing temperance movement, state legislation regarding sale and consumption of alcohol appeared as early as the mid-19th century. In 1851, Maine became the first state to prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquor, yet the law was repealed five years later. Kansas was another early enactor of anti-liquor laws, outlawing alcoholic beverages in 1881. The Sunflower State was also the launch pad for Carrie Nation’s outspoken and often violent temperance activism. Between 1900 and 1910, Nation was arrested over thirty times for destroying Kansas saloons with hatchets and rocks.
The Prohibition movement spread throughout the United States, gaining the most popularity in the South. Alliances were tied to religious beliefs; Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians tended to side with the “dries” and Protestants and Catholics with the “wets”. By early 1917, temperance supporters held a majority of seats in Congress, drawing members from the Democratic and Republican parties alike. In August 1917 the Senate passed a resolution to institute nationwide Prohibition. By 1919, the legislation had been ratified by 36 of the 48 states.

Photograph of local liquor law ballot, Floyd County, Georgia, 1887 July 9

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/vang/id:flo061

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Carry [sic] A. Nation And Home. (Printed verso reads: "Mrs. CARRY [sic] A. NATION was born in KENTUCKY as CARRY [sic] AMELIA MOORE. She came to Medicine Lodge Kansas as the wife of David Nation in the early nineties. Her first husband, Dr. Charles Gloyd, had died a drunkard, leaving her with a little girl and a heart of sorrow. She became very sympathetic with those who suffered as she, and began crusading against liquor in 1900. She later lectured in all 48 States, Canada, England and Scotland. She died June 9, 1911 at Leavenworth, Kansas and was buried in the family lot at Belton, Mo.")

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The Nation Dries Out

Early Alcohol Consumption

Brewing of a Temperance Movement

Unintended Consequences

Legacy

Crowd cheers the end of prohibition on the sale of liquor, as crates of liquor are brought into a store, Marietta, Georgia, April 1935.

Newspaper caption attached to print verso: "This crowd cheers arrival of the first legal stock of liquor at Marietta, Friday morning. A store on the Court House Square was all ready for the gala opening at 10 a.m.--but there wasn't a bottle on the shelves. Half an hour later 100 cases arrived by truck from a Columbus state warehouse." Print verso is date-stamped Apr 22 12:36.

http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ajc/id/1430

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Georgia State University. Special Collections

Digital Library of Georgia

Prohibition in the United States officially ended after 14 years, with the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment specifically repealed the 18th Amendment (which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States) and returned control of alcohol regulation to individual states, only banning transportation of alcohol when it violated local laws. Many states opted to remain dry, though none are completely dry today. Many states now delegate alcohol regulation to counties and municipalities. 
The 21st Amendment is the only constitutional amendment to date to repeal a previous amendment, and also the only one to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions rather than state legislatures; this method was chosen so that average citizens could weigh in on this sensitive issue without political pressure from the temperance lobby. 38 state conventions ratified the amendment, which officially took effect on December 15, 1933.

Governor Laffoon handing gavel to Laura Clay as Temporary Chairman of the Kentucky Convention to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Miss Clay's acceptance address is written on the back of the photo

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University of Kentucky

Kentucky Digital Library

Image 4 of Mountain eagle (Whitesburg, Ky.), April 1, 1926

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