American Women and the Repeal of Prohibition

Introduction

Introduction O n 5 December 193 3 an event occurred that was unprecedented i n American history: an amendment t o the U.S. Constitution wa s repealed. Th e Eighteent h (prohibition ) Amendmen t wa s nulli fied b y th e enactmen t o f anothe r amendment , th e Twenty-First ; th e method use d t o pas s thi s amendment—th e convenin g o f stat e constitu tional conventions—ha d no t bee n use d sinc e th e origina l ratificatio n o f the Constitution. Mor e importan t tha n it s status as a political landmark , however, wa s th e dramati c reversa l i n publi c sentiment s tha t th e repea l of prohibitio n represented . Indeed , passag e o f th e prohibitio n amend ment and of the amendment that repealed prohibition took approximately the sam e tim e (abou t a year) an d enjoye d th e sam e approva l percentag e (over 70 percent). Many factors helpe d creat e this remarkable turn o f events. Contribut ing significantl y t o th e sentimen t fo r repea l wa s th e deepenin g o f th e Depression, whic h enhance d th e popularit y o f th e argumen t tha t repea l would mea n mor e mone y i n th e for m o f taxe s fo r stat e an d federa l governments (an d more jobs for Americans in alcohol-related industries) . The inabilit y o f th e dr y coalition , compose d chiefl y o f th e Woman' s Christian Temperanc e Unio n (WCTU) , th e Anti-Saloo n Leagu e (ASL) , and evangelica l Protestan t churches , t o fashio n a n effectiv e defens e o f prohibition wa s als o an importan t factor . Th e media , too , playe d a role in prohibition' s decline , alternatel y plyin g th e publi c wit h titillatin g ac counts o f bootleggers , flappers, an d speakeasies , an d horrifyin g i t wit h stories of gangster violence and law enforcement inefficienc y an d corrup 1 2 • Introduction tion. An d althoug h politics frequently bring s together odd assortments of individuals, prohibitio n repea l attracte d a n especially disparat e constitu ency . Th e repea l coalitio n include d America n intellectuals , wh o viewe d prohibition a s an infringemen t upo n persona l liberty ; businessmen, wh o seized upo n repea l (and the prospect o f a renewal of taxes on liquor) as a way of reducing their own tax burden; and labor leaders, who welcomed the chanc e t o be rid o f a law that the y ha d lon g considered t o be biase d against workers. All of these elements wer e important i n contributing t o the decline i n support fo r prohibition , bu t th e on e facto r tha t wa s essential— I woul d argue decisive—i n obtainin g th e repea l o f prohibitio n wa s th e presenc e of a large number of well-organized wome n promoting repeal. Even more significant tha n the fact o f organized women' s suppor t fo r repea l was who these women wer e an d how they expresse d thei r suppor t fo r prohibitio n repeal. Som e wome n ha d alway s bee n outspoke n i n thei r oppositio n t o prohibition, an d throug h suc h earl y women's repea l groups a s the Moll y Pitcher Clu b the y ha d argue d tha t prohibitio n wa s "sumptuar y legisla tion ," that drinkin g wa s no t a criminal act , an d tha t governmen t ha d n o business involvin g itsel f i n what shoul d b e a strictly persona l realm . Ye t relatively fe w America n wome n foun d thes e argument s compelling , an d women's prohibitio n repea l organization s languishe d durin g mos t o f th e decade of the 1920 s with only a small national following . Not unti l...