Prohibition
What Went Down
- Prohibition was the outlawing of alcohol substances in this case
- Was greatly fought for by women, particularly the clubwomen
- Drinking was a great problem
- Rivaled prostitution as a problem in poor, working class families
- Women would succumb to prostitution
- Men would succumb to drinking
- Many men would work long hard hours and spend their hard-earned money in saloons
- Drained family resources
- Created tension between the men and women in households
- Alcoholism rose
- Observed in The Jungle
- Rivaled prostitution as a problem in poor, working class families
- 3 forces banded together for prohibition
- The Progressives
- The Women's Christian Temperance Union
- The Anti-Saloon League
- By 1916, the collective efforts won prohibition in 16 states
- In 1919, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution declared prohibition the law of the nation
Immigrant's Reaction
- Not all good came out of it
- Saloons played a great role in ethnic, working class communities
- Provided thousands of workers a place to eat
- Meatpacking factories had no cafeterias
- Workers had to go out to eat or eat inside the packing house
- Many served traditional foods and drinks
- Provided meeting space for immigrant organizations
- Let the men who wanted to speak in their own language talk in their native tongue
- Sometimes became informal bankers
- Lent out small loans
- Cashed Checks
- Immigrants shunned the prohibition movement
- No immigrants wanted to be "uplifted" or "reformed"
- Provided thousands of workers a place to eat
- Saloons played a great role in ethnic, working class communities
page revision: 1, last edited: 06 Oct 2009 18:21