Prohibition

Bonnie Lioce 

The beginning of prohibition came at one of the most difficult times to control the people of the United States. World War II had just ended and the people wanted to celebrate as they came home to their families. Women had just won the right to vote. As people became more and more accustomed to alcohol and their tolerance levels rose, the damage alcohol does went unnoticed and that was when people started getting hurt by their actions and the people around them. Some of the accidents were so terrible that people started calling alcohol “the Devil’s brew” because they thought it was evil and blamed it for all their problems. 

This is an example of prohibition propaganda that was posted through out cities in hope of support. 

Many people do not understand both sides of prohibition. The people against prohibition wanted to reduce drinking by eliminating the businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcoholic beverages. The advocators of prohibition were motivated because alcohol was destroying families and taking the lives of the workers. Alcohol gives a human the courage to do and say things they would not say when they are sober. This lead to families breaking apart because the men were constantly drunk and abusing their families or cheating on their wives. This caused numerous amounts of problems because supporters were mainly religious people. Alcohol was more common than water for workers. Their employers gave them glasses of liquor on breaks, which led to drunken workers in the factories who got hurt or died because they were not in a suitable state to work. These motivations caused the formation of groups like the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.

Citizens in support of prohibition often rioted or protested through out the streets of cities. 

Led by Frances E. Willard, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union worked tirelessly to banish alcohol. At the 1884 Republican National Convention, Frances said, “I come on behalf of millions of women… to ask that the guarantees and safeguards of law shall be stripped form the saloons of my country…and that the land we love may at once and forever go out of partnership with the liquor traffic”.  The women’s groups would stop at saloons and ask the owners to shut down their businesses. Other times, the women would take charge and destroy the bars by smashing kegs and breaking all the liquor bottles on the table so the alcohol could not be drank. The female support of prohibition was influenced by their lives at home and the belief that drunkenness was ungodly. One famous woman, Carry Nation, is known for carrying a hatchet and bible with her wherever she went because she was “divinely inspired to destroy saloons and usher in temperance”(Rebman). 

The women's groups firmly believed alcohol was horrible for their marriages and families. 

Prohibition ended up making people want to bend and break the law in any way possible. This was the complete opposite of the purpose of Prohibition because it spurred the creation of speakeasies and bootlegging. Earning profits became harder and harder for saloonkeepers so they began to introduce gambling and prostitution into their establishments as another way to get money. This increase in illegal production and sale of liquor was accompanied by a rise in gang violence and crimes in the cities. People were using bathtubs and sinks to brew their own alcohol and the client lists of druggists, people allowed to dispense medicinal quantities of alcohol, were skyrocketing. Although prohibition made most people uneasy, they worked together to make rum-running a successful business. This was trading and selling alcohol over water. Criminals, lawyers, government officials and other citizens saw prohibition as a way of getting rich because people were willing to buy alcohol for ridiculous amounts of money illegally. 

People would gather in speakeasies during prohibition to drink alcohol even though it was illegal. 

The supporters of prohibition saw how badly alcohol affected an individual and why it should be banished. They believed getting rid of alcohol would cure the countries problems, keep people from spending paychecks at saloons, and decrease the number of losses during labor. In support of prohibition was the National Safety Council, which was made up of middle class citizens, businessmen, and crusading women who believed success depended on convincing the working class that Prohibition would benefit their lives. An example of a businessman who supported the prohibition movement was Henry Ford. He said he would be through with manufacturing if booze came back because it was so dangerous for his workers. This loss in the economy would take away jobs and money from families. 

Henry Ford was one of the prominent business men in support of prohibition because it would benefit the quality of labor in his factories. 

Through the many efforts of the women’s groups and supporters of prohibition, the 18^th amendment was ratified in January 1919. The amendment took away the rights for every citizen to buy or sell alcoholic drinks. Another way of saying that is banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating beverages. Prohibition lasted thirteen years until the 21^st amendment was passed, repealing the 18^th amendment and alcohol was legal once more. Even though the ban on alcohol ended, many people believed prohibition “worked” because the consumption of alcohol declined dramatically in the thirteen years it was enforced. In the 1920’s, the consumption of alcohol was thirty percent of the prohibition level. By the end of the movement, the consumption levels increased dramatically as the illegal supplies of liquor increased. New generations of Americans who disregarded the law contributed to the increase in consumption. This movement was considered progressive because the government was able to decrease the amount of alcohol consumed for a long enough time that the people decreased the amount of alcohol they drank. 

Cities were filled with citizens celebrating the end of prohibition after the 21st amendment was passed. 

Works Cited

Rebman, Renée C. Prohibition. San Diego: Lucent, 1999. Print. This book provides me with information about the roots of prohibition and why it started. It told me about the role women had in the beginning of prohibition, that I did not know of before.

Blumenthal, Karen, and Jay Colvin. Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition. New York: Roaring Brook, 2011. Print. This book gave me information on bootlegging and Morris Shepard, who played a large part in prohibition because he despised liquor and saloons that sold it. It also told me about the murders and other crimes prohibition caused.

Behr, Edward. Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America. New York: Arcade Pub., 1996. Print. This book told me that the Saint Valentines Day Massacre occurred because of the problems prohibition caused and how the public continued to drink intoxicating liquors and break the law.

Brown, L. Ames. "Prohibition." JSTOR. University of Northern Iowa, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25108648?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=prohibition&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dprohibition%26amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3Doff%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&seq=3#page_scan_tab_contents>. This article by the North American Review gave me the point of view of an observer of prohibition. He looked at both sides of prohibition and talked about the reasons for peoples actions. It is also published in 1915 which helped put the feeling of prohibition into my mind so I could understand what the time period was like.

Tomkins, Floyd W. "Prohibition." Jstor. Sage Publications, Inc. in Association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F1014989%3FSearch%3Dyes%26resultItemClick%3Dtrue%26searchText%3Dprohibition%26searchUri%3D%252Faction%252FdoBasicResults%253FQuery%253Dprohibition%2526amp%253Bacc%253Don%2526amp%253Bwc%253Don%2526amp%253Bfc%253Doff%2526amp%253Bgroup%253Dnone%2526amp%253Bvf%253Djo%26seq%3D3%23page_scan_tab_contents>. This article is told after prohibition had ended and looks at whether or not is was effective and how it was enforced during the 13 years the law was in effect. It has multiple quotes from important authoritative figures like President Harding and Charles Thaddeus Terry, a leading New York attorney during prohibition.

The Union of the Prohibiton Era

To survive as a species, it has always, and will always take communication and working together, and bringing about great cultural change is a prime example of this. One man alone does not a movement make, and all of the great cultural movements in American society were orchestrated by not one man, but by groups of people collaborating together to bring about the change they desired. Prohibition is one such example, with both the bringing about of the 18th amendment and it's repeal with the 21st amendment, mass number of people worked together to make their ideas known and recognized by the higher government body.

A poster advertising a WCTU talk

The origins of prohibition date back to a longstanding temperance movement among women, devout christian authorities, and progressives going back to the mid 19th century. These men and women had long since believed that alcohol and other impairing products led to a sinful populace and a horrible life for both women and children. These small movements, however, never gained much ground until the forming of the women's christian temperance union in 1874. This union of women began a crusade of rallies, talks, and anti saloon marches. This groups influence began to turn the wheels in favor of prohibition, beginning with county and city legislation, and moving on to state wide prohibition of alcohol in several "dry" states. This movement lost ground over time though, as it's interests became more widespread, including preventing poverty, improving working conditions, and aiming for world piece. This diversion of interests watered down their cause and made their points less impactful to a decreasing number of listeners as their organization slowly fell apart.

ASL propeganda

With many organizations in the early 20th century protesting for temperance and prohibition, none of them were as well organized, or as successful as the Anti-Saloon league, the league which eventually convinced congress to propose the 18th amendment. While the WCTU was poorly organized and losing ground with people, the ASL had one goal, and one goal only: nationwide prohibition. The ASL didn't care who you were, what your beliefs were, or what political party you were with, as long as you supported prohibition. As proof, the ASL united with groups ranging from women's rights leagues, to christian unions, to even the klu klux klan in order to bring national prohibition. Beginning as a state organization in Ohio, the ASL brought about statewide prohibition, before setting its sights on even greater gains. With successful use of demonstrations, negotiation, and even blackmail, most politicians at the time came to fear the ASL, and knew they would cease to be in the business of politics if they dared defy it's wishes.

ASL world war I propeganda

The ASL was directed, and was largely successful due to the efforts of one brilliant man, Wayne Wheeler. Beginning as a minister, he became a lawyer because he needed to be one to suit the ASL's needs. With his influence, the ASL focused solely on the national prohibition of alcohol, and with his style of propaganda, men, women, and children came to hate the liquor business. The vast majority of supporters were women, who wanted a safer home life and the knowledge that their husbands would be responsible and not drunkards. These women marched tirelessly, and diligently swayed mind after mind with the use of propaganda and real stories. With this demand for prohibition, more and more states became dry, and eventually Wayne Wheeler and the ASL were in a position to strong arm the government into passing the 18th amendment.

A rally to repeal the 18th amendment

After the temperance movement finally had it's greatest success with the ratification of the 18th amendment, America soon learned the consequences of such radical action. While the idea of prohibition was good in concept, the government lost millions of dollars instantly from lack of liquor taxation, and therefore had no means to enforce the nationwide ban on alcohol. As mobs and bootleggers popped up more and more frequently, the police had less and less funds to stop them. And as a cultural side effect, the now taboo of alcohol just made it that more appealing to those willing to take the somewhat low risk to obtain it. With corruption spreading to the highest levels of politics, after nearly a decade the very same people who pushed for prohibition, instead rallied for its repeal.

Works Cited

"Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition." Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://library.brown.edu/cds/temperance/essay.html>.

Codding, J. K. "Prohibition in Kansas." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 32.Regulation of the Liquor Traffic (1908): 97-103. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.

Joy, Henry Bourne. "Prohibition against Human Nature." The North American Review 221.827 (1925): 608-11. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.

"Prohibition in the Progressive Era - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress." Prohibition in the Progressive Era - American Memory Timeline- Classroom Presentation | Teacher Resources - Library of Congress. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/progress/prohib/>.

"Prohibition." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/roots-of-prohibition/>.

Swallow, Silas C. "Prohibition: Why?" The North American Review 179.575 (1904): 550-54. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.

"Wayne B. Wheeler: The Man Who Turned Off the Taps." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/wayne-b-wheeler-the-man-who-turned-off-the-taps-14783512/?no-ist>.

https://prohibition.osu.edu/anti-saloon-league/dry-propaganda

The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

 

Children wearing the masks that were required by the Public Health Service

Hygiene is one of the most underrated aspects of our modern society. Washing one’s hands in the bathroom, covering one’s mouth to cough, and staying home when a contagious illness is acquired is common courtesy in our culture, but nothing to applaud. With the advances in modern medicine and the development of an effective Public Health System, the people of this planet are healthier and more effective. In the early 1900s this was not the case. When the first wave of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic appeared in Kansas, it was ignored by the government and once medical researchers realized the dangerous outcomes that could occur, there was no form of communication fast enough to warn the nation and the world. Along with the a poor public health system and a lack of efficient systems of communication, the death toll from the Influenza Pandemic skyrocketed as it hit the Earth in the middle of World War I. While there were many reasons why the pandemic was so deadly and ultimately the United States dealt with the disease by attempting to reduce the massive death toll instead of actually finding a cure for the disease. 

In a span of 2 years, the influenza virus killed over 675,000 Americans, which is almost 6 times the number of Americans that died in the First World War. The number of people who died from the flu has been disputed over time, but rests somewhere between 30 and 50 million people. The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 was the first pandemic involving the H1N1 influenza virus, and was one of the deadliest worldwide episodes of disease in history. While the specific origins of the virus have been disputed, Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin, Alfred W. Crosby believes that the first observation of the flu took place in Haskell County, Kansas, in January of 1918 by Dr. Loring Miner. Many other researchers and historians have found this hypothesis to be the most accurate. On March 4th, 1918, company cook Albert Gitchell check into the infirmary at Fort Riley, Kansas and by noon on March 11th, over 100 soldiers were in the hospital. This outbreak was reported, but the Public Health Service took no precautionary measures and by March 1918, the disease had spread to Queens, New York. One of the largest causes of spreading of the disease was World War I.  In trench warfare, there is no place to be quarantined when one has a mild illness and when a soldier became severely ill, they were brought to crowded hospitals by train and spread the deadly virus even more rapidly. The war allowed the virus to spread through mass movements of men across countries and by ship, ultimately bringing the virus back to Boston in September 1918. The disease grew worse with time and 200,000 people died in October alone. In November 1918, the people of the Unites States celebrated Armistice Day by throwing parties and holding large gatherings, which only caused the disease to spread quicker.

The H1N1 virus that killed millions of people in 1918 and 1919

    When the disease first appeared, people mistook it for the common cold, but as the virus spread it mutated. During the second wave of the Influenza Pandemic, the virus was different than all previous and future flu viruses. It mainly affected adults from ages 20-40, instead of children and the elderly like all other influenzas. This mutation has been attributed to the circumstances that soldiers of World War I were in. This stronger, mutated flu virus had a worldwide mortality rate of 2.5%, compared to the 0.1% of viruses from previous influenza episodes. Although scientists understood that the virus had shifted and gotten stronger, there was controversy, and still is today, over which animal the virus started in and therefore, which type of flu virus killed so many people. The most concrete explanation of the outbreak is that the influenza virus was a mutation of the avian flu and that the virus jumped from birds to humans, and that pigs (swine) indirectly caught the virus from humans. In 1919, the American people demanded that the government fund research for both the causes and impact of the influenza pandemic. The Public Health Service conducted multiple small epidemiological studies across the nation, in order to study the effects of the flu in varying locations. Since the research was done after the pandemic, the data were varying and Public Health Service workers admitted that the results were most likely inaccurate, although modern scientists do agree on the finding that places with higher humidity had a deadlier case of the flu because the moisture and higher temperatures allowed the virus to grow. While no vaccine or cure was created during this pandemic, scientists studied influenza and finally understood the basic concepts of how the disease operated. They learned that the virus is spread through the air by coughing or sneezing and that if one is sick with the flu, then there are more at risk to get pneumonia, which is what made the virus so deadly.

Women wearing gauze masks

    . The Public Health Departments across the country began using their basic knowledge of the virus to try and protect the American people. Since they understood that the virus travelled through air, they attempted to prevent infected patients sharing the same air as the uninfected. Public gatherings were closely monitored, those infected were set to a strict quarantine, funerals were limited to 15 minutes, stores could not hold sales, and gauze masks were distributed to be worn in public. A fine would be collected from those who ignored influenza ordinances, but the actual enforcement of these practices varied from location to location, depending on the power of the local health departments and the severity of the virus in that specific place. Other organizations were created by the government to control the outbreak, such as the Committee of the American Public Health Association. The APHA was in charge of all public gatherings. They were the ones who decided that saloons, dance halls, and cinemas were to be closed during the pandemic. Churches were granted permission to remain open, but the APHA said that only the minimum number of services were to be held. One highly debated aspect of society that the APHA regulated to reduce the spread of disease was the closing of schools. While in other countries it was more  accepted, many Americans believed that the closing of schools in urban areas was less effective than in rural areas because there was no added exposure in a large city. While some flu preventative measures were extreme, American citizens, for the most part, followed the Public Health Service’s rules and regulations. A sense of nationalism throughout the country due to the World War cause the American people to place their trust in the government and accept the ways that they tried to deal with this pandemic.

American Red Cross nurses learning how to help influenza victims

    Although the government and Public Health Service was working day and night to prevent people from getting the flu and treating people who were infected, other organizations were responding to the pandemic separately. One of the main organizations who made a significant impact on the fight against influenza was the American Red Cross. Once the war was over, thousands of wounded soldiers returned to America and this influx of patients pushed the hospital facilities and staff to their limits. This created a shortage of physicians, especially in the civilian sector as many had been lost for service with the military. Due to this shortage, only medical students were available to care for the people hospitalized by influenza. Volunteers were desperately needed during the 1918 pandemic. The U.S. Public Health Service sent the Red Cross an urgent request  for trained nurses in Boston Harbor on September 14th, 1918. By November 7th, 1918, the Red Cross had recruited 15,000 nurses. These brave women served military and civilian flu patients even though there were high risks of infection and death. 223 nurses died while providing treatment to influenza victims. As the virus spread, it became obvious that the American Red Cross and its volunteers would be important part in the outcome of the pandemic. Therefore, the Red Cross created a National Committee of Influenza to organize and utilize the vast amount of volunteer nurses that were working through the organization. On a local level, individual Red Cross chapters organized committees with local public health officers to discuss influenza in that specific area. The local committees surveyed the hospital workforce in the area and recruited nurses to join their cause. Along with local committees and the National Committee of Influenza, the Red Cross Motor Corps, established in 1917, to transport volunteers and infected patients. The Motor Corps consisted of almost all women, and most of them used their own cars. Also emergency hospitals were set up across the United States to give aid to infected people arriving from overseas and canteens were created to feed those who could not eat at home due to infection in the family. Not only did the Red Cross involve thousands of nurses and health care professionals with the cause, but provided an organized system for every type of aid, which save thousands of people’s lives across the United States.

A hospital filled with Influenza patients

    While in the middle of the pandemic it was obvious to the average citizen that there was a serious disease spreading, but the lack of rapid communication made it difficult for the general population to understand what was happening when the influenza virus first broke out. Without television, internet or radio, newspapers were the only source of information in the United States at the time and even newspapers were never 100% accurate. Amidst WWI, the United States, and like other countries, government attempted to hold off the pandemic by ignoring at first. In an attempt to keep a strong front against opposing forces, all news of influenza and deaths from the disease were held from official reports in every country, except the neutral country, Spain. This made it seem as though the disease was worse in Spain, thus coining the disease “The Spanish Flu”. This is just one example of how blind the people of America were. People learned about the millions of deaths that influenza caused through newspapers because the front pages were always filled with tragedy and drama. While this is exciting, the lack of actual evidence and scientific research about the disease left people confused, therefore turning to the Public Health Service for answers. The American Red Cross and other well known organizations were already well known because of efforts in previous tragedies across the world, but even though many people searched for aid from the government or the ARC, influenza killed many who were unaware of the severity of the disease.

    The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and 1919 was one of the deadliest worldwide outbreaks of any disease throughout history. Records show that in 1 year, more people died from Influenza than in 4 years from the Bubonic Plague. While efforts based on scientific conclusions were made to keep the uninfected people of America healthy, the deadliness of the disease combined with general public's ignorance cause the death toll to break records. The ideas that came from this pandemic were innovative and progressive, but the execution was just not enough to save a good bit of the United States' population.

   

Works Cited

H., W. H. "Review: Report on the Pandemic of Influenza, 1918-19." Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 84.2 (1921): 280-83. JSTOR. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/2340504?ref=no-x-route:d1d3a44088659e588af9e13a8edc39de>. This source is a medical journal that describes the Influenza pandemic that spread across the United States during the late 1910s. The report goes into detail about the amount of deaths from the disease and scientific side of why this tragedy occurred. I used this source to see what happened scientifically, from a first hand account. The information I gained was helpful in learning what exactly the people that experienced the pandemic were trying to fight.

Jones, Marian Moser. "The American Red Cross and Local Response to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: A Four-City Case Study." The American Red Cross and Local Response to the 1918 Influenza Pandemic: A Four-City Case Study 125.Supplement 3: The 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic in the United States (2010): 92-104. JSTOR. Web. 22 Feb. 2015. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/41435303?ref=no-x-route:efd6f8995017aa7480d71f3038eca1f6>. This source is a study of the influenza disease's effects on four different cities in America in 1918. I used this source to further understand what the American Red Cross did to help the people of the United States. The source gave more in depth information on how organizations that were separate from the government responded to the pandemic.

"Red Cross Response To One Of Biggest Disease Outbreaks In History." Red Cross Respons To One Of Biggest Disease Outbreaks In History. American Red Cross, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015. This source describes the work that the Red Cross did to aid victims of the influenza epidemic. The source gave me more information on how the Red Cross helped people in the United States and the different organizations that the Red Cross supported and organized.

 Humphries, Mark Osborne, Paths of Infection: The First World War and the Origins of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic War in History Vol 21, Issue 1, Jan 2014. This source is a journal that tells the background information and the flu pandemic and its role in World War I. The journal also went into detail about the scientific side of the disease and how the conditions of the war caused the virus to become more deadly. I used this source to learn about the relationship of the war and the virus and why the virus was so deadly.

"Influenza pandemic (1918-1919)." The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern History 1789-1945. 2001. History Study Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. This source is a definition of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and a brief explanation of the affects that the disease had on the world. I used this source as a starting point for my research and I used it to gain basic understanding of what the Influenza Pandemic was.

Melzer, Richard. "Influenza 1918." The Journal of American History 85.3 (Dec 1998): 1179-1180. History Study Center. Web. 12 Feb. 2015. This journal talks about the pandemic and how people responded to it. I used this source to get information about how the government responded to the massive deaths and how people responded once they found out how deadly the disease actually was.

The struggle for women’s rights

Daniel Salehinasab

U.S. History

Mr. Ward

February 23, 2015

The struggle for women’s rights

Women all over the world demanded that they have equal rights. They felt they that they were not treated equally to men. Women did not have many rights back in the day. Women could not vote or run for office. Women felt that this was against equality which was what America was founded on. The Women’s Rights movement began in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1888 the first women international rights movement began, the International Council of Women, which was abbreviated as ICW. American activist Carrie Chapman Catt and other leading women’s rights activists formed the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, or IWSA for short. The suffrage movement in the United States was not that popular until the first women’s rights convention in the world, the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. Advocates of woman suffrage played a large role in amending the constitution to include recognition of women’s right to vote.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Candy, who are
influential people in the Women's rights movement

During the nineteenth century as males suffrage was extended, women began to fight for their rights. After the civil war, females interest in equal rights increased tremendously. Some women felt insulted after the fifteenth amendment was passed. This amendment gave black men the right to vote. Some famous suffragists such as, Susan B. Anthony did not endorse the amendment. This was because the amendment gave black men the right to vote, but not Women. Other famous suffragists such as, Lucy Stone, did not feel insulted but instead, felt that after the black male achieves the right to vote; women would soon be able to vote as well. The women fought hard for their rights and later they decide to fight for property rights to married woman. The American Woman Suffrage Association aimed to secure women's rights to vote through state legislation. Wyoming entered the union in 1890 and was the first state with general women’s suffrage.

Women protesting in front of the Whitehouse

The National Women’s Party proposed an amendment to the constitution that prohibited all discrimination on the basis of sex in 1923. This equal rights amendment has never been ratified to this day. In 1890 the two groups merged to make one, the National American Woman Suffrage Association. As these two groups merged their ideas changed as well. At first suffragists’ argued that women are equal to men and that is why their rights should be equal. But then they began to argue that they deserved to vote because they were different from men. Many also argued that allowing white woman to vote will allow white supremacy.

Poster about women wanting
their right to vote

Suffrage was a big deal that linked people internationally. It was quite an important matter and the people fighting for and deserved to be heard. Everyone desires freedom and wants to have the opportunity to participate in  the society they live in and affect their environment. Today people taking voting for granted, but women’s right to vote was the result of a long, bitter battle. In 1896, there was the first statewide vote for women suffrage in California. In this vote the women asked Susa B. Anthony to organize the campaign. Unfortunately, even with all the effort that they put forth, the amendment failed. In 1911 Suffragists finally succeeded in getting the progressive republicans to put suffrage on the October ballot. At the end of their long run, suffragists realized that this fight was not only for their right to vote; but it was about women sharing their ideas and trying many new approaches in order to succeed in their one common goal.

Political cartoon of women suffrage

Early women’s rights leaders believed that suffrage was the most effective means to change an unjust system. Even though Susan B. Anthony devoted fifty years to the women’s suffrage movement, she didn’t live to see women gain the right to vote. On August 26,1920 the nineteenth amendment was finally ratified, which gave women the right to vote. This victory was considered one of the most significant achievements of women history in the progressive era. This was achieved peacefully and through democratic processes, the single largest of democratic voting rights in our nation’s history. There were still some restrictions on the voting and that is why on July 2, 1928 a law was passed that allowed all women above the age of twenty one to vote.

Political cartoon of women suffrage

In conclusion, the 100 year long fight for the women’s right to vote was long but rewarding. Women made a stand for themselves by participating in marches on the streets and hunger strikes. The women that participated in the movement, truly demonstrated american spirit and did not give up. Women were tired of constantly being treated as the stereotypical housewife. They wanted more to do with society rather than staying at home and changing the babies diapers. They felt that it was unfair not allowing women to have roles in congress, and not having a say in the ballot. After a long fight, their tremendous spirit was rewarded by receiving the rights they were fighting for. This was a great progressive act that represented true democracy in America. Thanks to the countless organizations and key characters such as, Susan B. Anthony women were awarded their right to vote in their country, the United States of America.

Annotated Bibliography

Hardie, James Keir and the Central Society for Women's Suffrage. "The Labour Party and women's suffrage." Chadwyck-Healey Historical Documents. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd, 2005. History Study Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This primary source helped get some information of people that were involved in the movement first hand.

Gladstone, William Ewart. "Gladstone on woman suffrage." Chadwyck-Healey Historical Documents. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey Ltd, 2005. History Study Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This primary source was mostly focused on dates and specificity.

Rhodes, Arthur Neil. Women's Suffrage and Intemperance. 1914. The Gerritsen Collection. History Study Center. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This primary source was photocopied and was quite hard to read at some points. This source talked about mens expectations of women.

IMOW. "International Museum of Women." California Woman Suffrage 1870-1911. International Museum of Women, 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This source had lots of quotes from important people in the movement.

Miller, Elizabeth Smith, and Anne Fitzhugh Miller. "Miller NAWSA Suffrage Scrapbooks, 1897-1911." - (American Memory from the Library of Congress). Library of Congress, 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This was scrapbooks from people that had major involvement in the movement.

George, Franklin. "Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921." Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921. Library of Congress, 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - this source was a large collections of books, pamphlets, and other artifacts relating to the suffrage and the movement.  

Paul, Alice. "Women in the Progressive Era." Women in the Progressive Era. National Women's History Musuem, 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This source had some good pictures with informative captions.

Grolier. "History of Women's Suffrage | Scholastic.com." History of Women's Suffrage | Scholastic.com. Scholastic, 2014. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This source primarily talked about women suffrage all over the word and had parts about the United States specifically as well.

History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian,Women in Congress, 1917–2006. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2007. “The Women’s Rights Movement, 1848–1920,”

Annotation - This source talked about the whole women’s rights movement and had lots of pictures that helped me visualize how the movement occurred.

Center, Anthony. "Suffrage History." The Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership ::. University of Rochester, 2006. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

Annotation - This source was a brief overview of suffrage history.

Skinner, Ellen. Women and the National Experience: Primary Sources in American History. New York: Longman, 2003. Print.

Annotation - This source was long and I did not use all of it. It did talk about the powerful influences mothers had on future generations.

Jones, Constance. 1001 Things Everyone Should Know about Women's History. New York: Doubleday, 1998. Print.

Annotation - This source focused primarily on the major role women played in society and how it is not fair if they are not able to contribute in the government.

JR

Prohibition and Progressivism

Barrels of liquor being poured out

            January 16, 1920 the taps were shut off and America became a dry country, Prohibition had begun. A nationwide ban placed on the manufacturing, sale, and transportation on one of America’s men’s favorite things, alcohol. The day before the taps went dry streets were flooded with men buying up every last drop of alcohol they could get their hands on. Liquor stores in an attempt to rid themselves of all the alcohol they could while they could still make money on its sale sold alcohol at incredible discounts. Baskets full to the brim with bottles of alcohol had signs on them reading “Everything $5.” So many Americans were absolutely devastated by the news of the ban being placed on alcohol; however at the same the time, those who had lobbied for this ban for so long were absolutely ecstatic. The sound of barrels and bottles of alcohol being emptied into drains was music to their ears. January 16, 1920 was one of the most important days in American history, the day the taps went dry.

Members of the WTCU

            Alcohol was banned in America, alcoholics wept and reformers and activists rejoiced. Among these reformers was the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. This group was formed initially with the goal of making America a dry country. They, along with others, believed that the problems among American men stemmed from their use and abuse of alcohol.  These problems included gambling, fighting, beating their wives, along with countless other problems all pinned on alcohol. In the minds of these activists alcohol was the root of all the problems of men in the United States. These activists saw a ban on alcohol as the only way that America could progress and move forward. In their eyes alcohol was holding America, the men of America specifically, back from their full potential, and that they could not be good members of society while using alcohol. These activists were for the most part Christians who saw alcohol as an unholy thing for people to be consuming. These groups used speeches and conferences to promote their ideas. They used the behavior of Americans to validate their points. They also used the Bible and their Christian roots to try turn the American people away from alcohol, promising a better country without alcohol. They included both women and men; however the majority of the men joined the movement later than the women. The WTCU was eventually surpassed as the leading pressure group in America.

Alcohol being poured out

The other main group in the fight to ban alcohol was the Anti- Saloon League or the ASL. This group was led by Rev. Howard Hyde Russell originally and later Wayne B. Wheeler joined Russell after hearing him deliver a temperance lecture. Wheeler signed as one of the first full time employees of the ASL after that speech and eventually became one of the leaders along with Russell. Unlike the WTCU who became involved in other issues, Wheeler and the ASL vowed to only focus on temperance. It was when this group, the ASL, was formed when the Prohibition movement began to gain strength. After the ASL’s formation the WTCU, who had been trying for year, was able to enact local Prohibition laws in counties around America, eventually Prohibition became a national movement. The ASL was the largest, most powerful pressure group, a term coined by Wheeler himself.

The drinking culture had become so bad in America, which is why these pressure groups began to form. Men were fighting, being late for work, beating their wives, along with numerous other things deemed bad. This behavior was terrible and these groups feared that with European immigration it would only spread and worsen. One of the worst parts of this drinking culture was the saloons.

A Prohibition protest 

Saloons were formed by brewing companies attempting to remain competitive. By definition these places were retail businesses that sold beer and whiskey by the glass. However soon after their inception they began to use gambling and prostitution as ways to gain an edge on their competitors. These places became hot spots for all kinds of crime for American men. They were seen as absolutely offensive and noxious places by most of America. It was this type of behavior and places that began the Prohibition movement.

The media played a pivotal part in the movement and growth of the temperance movement in America. The American newspapers kept the public up to date with what was going on with Prohibition. They tended to focus on the things that would peak the interest of readers such as the stories of arrest and bribery. They also kept the American’s in the loop leading up to the law being passed. The media held nothing from the public; it told everything to the people. While it did focus more on the crazy, more interesting topics, it was very truthful in its information. It did not sensationalize things to make them more interesting. It just told the truth because the mere topic of Prohibition was interesting enough for Americans to pick up the paper and read. Almost every title involving Prohibition had the word Prohibition or a word very closely related to it so that the people would know it was about Prohibition. This is how the papers sold, they did not need crazy headlines to draw in readers, the truth about Prohibition was what interested the people. The media gave the people the truth about what was going on and that was all they wanted.

An article from Prohibition times

The 18^th amendment changed America drastically; however one of the biggest, most influential laws in American history was overturned just 13 years later. The ratification of the 21^st amendment may have been more shocking than that of the 18^th. The repeal came after 13 years of Prohibition. 13 years of people making their own liquor, transporting it all over, and bosses such as Al Capone coming into the picture. Prohibition did more harm than good. It created more crime, when people realized they could just buy liquor from a bootlegger they stopped caring about that law. Much like marijuana today, the law only stopped some people from drinking as it was still available. Many said that America “grew tired” of Prohibition. This makes sense when you think about how much it was to keep up enforcement of the law to little avail.

Prohibition was a huge turning point in American history. The passing of the 18^th amendment was one of the biggest events in American history, only to be overturned by 21^st amendment. The activists had a false that they had made the big step towards reaching their goal, only to be shown that they could never reach their goal of a truly dry nation. The Americans refused to give up their alcohol finding ways to get what they wanted. So many things were born out of Prohibition including NASCAR, moonshine, along with many other new things that never would have been without Prohibition. Prohibition helped America in many ways to progress it into the country it is today. It may not have had the same effect the activists who worked so hard for a dry nation had dreamed of but it certainly had positive effects for America.

             

Works Cited

"1,500 Agents Begin Dry Law Enforcement." New-York Tribune [New York, N.Y.] 17 Jan. 1920: 3. Library of Congress. Web. 21 Feb. 2015. This article contains information about the enforcement of the new law. I can use this to show how the law was enforced from a first hand account.

"New Law to Clamp Down Dry Lid Hard." The Evening Missourian [Columbia, Mo.] 29 Oct. 1919: 51. Print. This is a good primary source that shows what was going on at the time. I can use this to have a first person perspective in my paper.

Okrent, Daniel. "Wayne B. Wheeler: The Man Who Turned Off the Taps." Smithsonian. Lori Erdos, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. This source has great information on what life was like during Prohibition and leading up to it. I can use this to show why Prohibition happened in the first place and what drove America to make such an amendment.

"Prohibition Before House." El Paso Herald 2 Aug. 1917: 12. Library of Congress. Web. 21 Feb. 2015. This article is good because it is a primary source from the time when Prohibition was happening. I can use this to show what was going on in America at the time from a first person point of view.

"Roper Asks Clergy to Aid in Work of Dry Enforcement." Evening Public Ledger [Philadelphia, Pa.] 17 Jan. 1920: 1. Library of Congress. Web. 21 Feb. 2015. This source contains good information of what was really going on in this time in history. I can use this to have first hand account of what was happening with Prohibition.

"Why Prohibition." Temperance & Prohibiton. Columbus: Ohio State U, n.d. N. pag. Temperance & Prohibtions. Ohio Sate University. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. I have chosen to use this source because it gives me a good base as to what Prohibition was. It tells me why it was started and how it was passed along with the main groups involved in the movement.