04. 1915-40 - Activists, reformers and campaigners (Right to choose, Prohibition)

Question 1

What factors meant birth rates remained high, particularly among African American and poorer families?

Answer 1

Religion (Catholics and Protestants believed marriage was for procreation)

Ignorance around contraception

Question 2

What were the Cornstock Laws (1873)?

Answer 2

A series of federal and state laws that effectively made sale and distribution of contraceptives illegal*

*they had previously been available in pharmacies

Question 3

What was the impact of the Cornstock Laws (1873)?

Answer 3

They drove contraceptives ‘under the counter’ i.e. they could be bought - but at a price.

This often led poorer women to resort to illegal abortions.

Question 4

Who was Margaret Sanger?

Answer 4

A leading pro-choice advocate

Question 5

What did Margaret Sanger promote in newspaper articles in 1912

Answer 5

The idea that every woman should be ‘the absolute mistress of her own body’

Question 6

What did Margaret Sanger found in 1921?

Answer 6

The American Birth Control League (ABCL)

Question 7

When did Margaret Sanger found the American Birth Control League?

Answer 7

In 1921

Question 8

With the financial backing of John D. Rockefeller, what did Margaret Sanger establish in 1923?

Answer 8

The first legal birth control clinic

Question 9

What impact did the American Birth Control League (ABCL) have in the 1920s?

Answer 9

Some - the League had 27,500 members, although there were only 10 branches across 8 states

Question 10

When were the Cornstock Laws effectively ended?

Answer 10

1938 (the federal govt. lifted the ban on birth control)

Question 11

After the Cornstock Laws were ended in 1938, did contraceptives become easier to acquire?

Answer 11

Not really as states legislatures passed their own laws on contraception

Question 12

Which Amendment introduced Prohibition?

Answer 12

The Eighteenth

Question 13

How long did Prohibition last?

Answer 13

13 years (1920 to 1933)

Question 14

Which Amendment repealed Prohibition?

Answer 14

The Twenty-first Amendment

Question 15

How involved were women in Prohibition?

Answer 15

Very - in both its introduction and its repeal

Question 16

Why is Prohibition revealing with regards to women?

Answer 16

It highlights their influence on issues considered part of their traditional ‘sphere’.

The repeal campaign also highlights how bitterly divided women could be.

Question 17

Who was Frances Willard?

Answer 17

The powerful leader of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) from 1874

Question 18

How did Frances Willard frame the debate around Prohibition?

Answer 18

She framed it in the protection of the home

Question 19

When was the turning point in the Prohibition campaign?

Answer 19

In 1893 with the formation of the Anti-Saloon League (ASL)

Question 20

When did the Anti-Saloon League expand its influence?

Answer 20

In 1898 following the death of Frances Willard. The ASL allied itself with the WCTU.

Question 21

What success did the WCTU and ASL have before the First World War?

Answer 21

They successfully lobbied 9 states to enact prohibition laws by 1913.

By 1917, 26 states had them.

Question 22

What other reasons account for the success of the prohibition campaign?

Answer 22

The First World War increased anti-German sentiment – many brewers were owned by Germans.

The ‘wets’ (opponents of prohibition) were disorganised.

Question 23

What early efforts were there to repeal Prohibition?

Answer 23

In 1922, M. Louise Gross formed the Molly Pitcher Club in New York City to oppose prohibition

It was not effective (it focused on arguments about ‘freedom’ rather than moral arguments about the family)

Question 24

What unintended consequences did Prohibition have?

Answer 24

It helped organised crimes (e.g. Al Capone in Chicago) and led to the growth of ‘speakeasies’ (illegal bars/shops), racketeering, prostitution, drug trafficking.

The police were overwhelmed – or in the pay of organised crime.

Question 25

Who was Pauline Sabin?

Answer 25

The founder of the Women’s Organisation for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR)

Question 26

When and by whom was the Women’s Organisation for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR) founded?

Answer 26

1929 by Pauline Sabin

Question 27

Why was the appeal of WONPR so strong by c. 1930?

Answer 27

It was clear prohibition was not having the desired effect

Question 28

How many members did WONPR have by 1931?

Answer 28

1.5m

Question 29

Why did some women abuse the WONPR and its leadership?

Answer 29

The leadership were generally wealthy.

Many women still believed in prohibition.

Question 30

Why was WONPR successful where the Molly Pitcher Club failed?

Answer 30

WONPR grounded its arguments in protection of home and family (rather than abstract arguments about personal freedom)

Question 31

Why did the WONPR grow more powerful than the WCTU?

Answer 31

The WONPR were upper class, well organised and well connected e.g. to the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA), a male organisation.

The WCTU by the late twenties was a working class organisation which lacked the necessary political connections.

Question 32

What other factors led to repeal of prohibtion?

Answer 32

Many Americans thought it had failed and was creating social problems.

The govt had lost tax revenue – money FDR needed during the Depression.

Question 33

In what ways is Prohibition similar to the Equal Rights Amendment?

Answer 33

Both campaigns divided women

Question 34

Overall, did women gain from the Prohibition issue?

Answer 34

In some ways.

It showed on specific, emotive issues that women could be a powerful political force. (However, there were few of these issues.)

However, it did not advance the position of poor and working-class women or change women’s political position.