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6. Aftermath and Conclusion
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C H A P T E R S I X Aftermath and Conclusion A fter the enactment of the Twenty-First Amendment , bot h prohibition an d repea l wome n turne d t o other concerns . Th e activitie s L i n whic h thes e wome n becam e involve d ar e enlightening , re flecting bac k o n th e motivation s an d politica l agenda s tha t informe d th e repeal debate . Withi n th e prohibitio n cam p ther e wer e fe w surprises , either a s expressed i n WCTU polic y or as enunciated b y key prohibitio n women. Fo r women drys there was no escaping the fact that repeal was a devastating blow. Meetin g in Cleveland i n 1934, t n e WCTU first tried t o put a goo d fac e o n repea l ("th e repea l o f th e 18t h Amendmen t i s no t defeat"), sprinkle d i n some biblical quotations ("happy i s he that hath th e God o f Jacob fo r hi s hel p . . . bu t th e wa y o f th e wicke d h e turnet h upside down") , the n go t dow n t o th e busines s o f parcelin g ou t blame. 1 The WCT U blaste d "movi e screens , radio , newspaper s an d magazines , billboards, [and ] persona l solicitors " fo r pourin g "deceptiv e propagand a into the people's ear s day an d night " and conclude d tha t th e AAPA wa s the mai n culpri t i n th e "educatio n agains t prohibition." 2 A s fo r curren t conditions the WCTU hinte d darkl y that "youth is surrounded b y temptation suc h a s wa s unknow n i n pre-prohibitio n days " an d tha t "th e ol d saloon is not back but the new one is here, infinitely mor e dangerous than the old." 3 Th e WCT U pledge d itsel f ane w t o eradicatio n o f th e liquo r traffic, suppor t o f th e Chil d Labo r Amendment , an d boycottin g "inde cent , salaciou s films." Wistfully , th e WCT U als o urge d "th e establish ment o f famil y altar s an d th e seriou s consideratio n o f mother s a s to th e value of making home the center of the social life of the family." 4 130 Aftermath and Conclusion • 13 1 The WCTU' s presiden t an d mos t visibl e symbol , Ell a Boole , had th e misfortune o f presiding ove r th e demis e o f the WCTU' s mos t cherishe d reform. Interpretin g repea l bot h a s national traged y an d persona l defeat , Boole resigned a s president i n 1933 . She continued i n he r pos t a s president o f th e World' s WCTU , an d ove r th e nex t decad e Bool e focuse d on th e conditio n o f women , internationa l dru g traffic , an d peac e an d disarmament. Bool e retire d fro m th e World' s WCT U i n 1947 , a t ag e eighty-eight. Sh e died of a stroke in 195 2 at her Brooklyn home. 5 Among th e bitteres t postrepea l reflection s wer e thos e o f Luc y Pea body , wh o shortl y afte r passag e o f th e Twenty-Firs t Amendmen t pro duced a polemi c calle d Kidnaping the Constitution. Foreshadowin g late r critics of repeal such as Ernest Gordon and Fletcher Dobyns , the founde r of the Woman' s Nationa l Committe e fo r La w Enforcemen t claime d tha t the Eighteent h Amendmen t ha d "no t bee n repeale d legally , bu t wa s kidnaped b y powerfu l forces , dangerou s t o our Government, bu t no w i n power."6 I n thi s somewha t derange d documen t Peabod y blaze d awa y a t everyone sh e fel t ha d ha d a...