Prohibition Flashcards
Why was drink made illegal in some states?
The Protestant, rural America housed a very strong temperance movement.
What were the names of these movements?
The Anti Saloon League, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
How did the propaganda made by these groups help alcohol to become illegal?
It supported a number of influential individuals including industrialists such as Rockefeller who claimed that worker would be more reliable if they were sober.
In WW1 what did the anti-saloon league describe alcohol as?
un-American, pro-German, crime-producing, food-wasting, youth-corrupting, home-wrecking and treasonable.
Why was alcohol portrayed as unpatriotic?
It was brewed by German-Americans.
By 1917 why could prohibition be implemented?
It had enough support from the states.
What did the 18th Amendment state?
It prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquor.
When did prohibition become law?
16th January 1920.
What law defined intoxicating liquor as any liquid containing more than 0.5% alcohol?
The Volstead Act.
What indicates the division between rural and urban America?
Prohibition only had limited support in urban states but was widely accepted in rural areas.
What did Americans make?
Moonshine.
What is moonshine?
A powerfully alcoholic brew which killed many.
Where else could people get alcohol?
Others went to speakeasies, illegal bars which often posed as legitimate businesses.
By 1925 how many speakeasies were there in New York?
100,000.
How much did Americans still drink?
More than 200 million gallons of spirits, 685 million gallons of malt whisky and 118 million gallons of wine.
