Religious Communities and The Consumption of Alcohol

1349 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Challenges of prohibition essay

The legislation surrounding the banning of alcohol in America had intent to boost a moral and righteous America however and was not expected to affect the economy however; the country responded in a polar way; corrupting officials, hurting the economy and American people, and even dividing the country and its politics. The Prohibition was put in place to benefit America; to do away with drunkenness and make America more productive and healthy. Although the intentions of the legislations were good natured a sleeping demon was awakened and America was thrown into disarray.
The disapproval of alcohol consumption and it's effects on the body are rooted in religious communities. Temperance in America was brought to the surface by communities who frowned upon the behavior of drunken individuals. It was seen as immoral and unhealthy. The temperance movement was the beginning of diffrent view on alcohol. It was not a legal issue yet some communities felt very adamant about the abolition of alcoholic drinks and fought for an end to them. Many of the major temperance movements were spearheaded by religious women who formed organizations dedicated to spreading the word of temperance and debating for an end to alcoholic consumption in America. The idea took well with righteous individuals however the many city dwellers and less conservative people were not on board with the ideas behind banning alcohol. Temperance experiences it's first victory when in 1881 Kansas became the first state to include an alcohol ban in its state constitution. This can be attributed to Carrie Nation and the movement group she was apart of. The Woman's’ Christian Temperance Union was instrumental in much of the publicity of temperance. After much more campaigning...

... middle of paper ...

...History of the Liquor Problem and the Temperance Reform in the United States From the Earliest Settlements to the Consummation of of the National Prohibition”.Westerville, Ohio: The American Issue Press, 1920. [Print]

Coffey, Thomas M. The Long Thirst: Prohibition in America, 1920-1933. W. W. Norton Incorporated, 1975. [Print]

Lerner, Michael. “Prohibition: Unintended Consequenses”. PBS, 2011. Web. 17 Dec. 2013

Miron, Jeffrey A. Miron and Zwiebel, Jeffrey. “The American Economic Review Vol. 81, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundred and Third Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association” American Economic Association (1991): 242-47. JSTOR. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.

"Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.

Woodiwiss, Michael. Crime, Crusades and Corruption. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated, 1988. [Print]

Show More
Related

  • Okrent’s Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    Enacting prohibition in a culture so immersed in alcohol as America was not easy. American had long been a nation of strong social drinkers with a strong feeling towards personal freedom. As Okrent remarks, “George Washington had a still on his farm. James Madison downed a pint of whiskey a day”. This was an era when drinking liquor on ships was far safer than the stale scummy water aboard, and it was common fo...

    Read More

  • The Hopes and Realities of Prohibition

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    The hopes of the prohibitionist were dreams of a healthier and more successful nation. Their dreams were spun from the idea of shutting out the alcohol industry and enforcing large industries and stressing family values. The eighteenth amendment consisted of the end of sales, production, transportation, as for importation and exportation of intoxicating liquors. Their imaginations were large and very hopeful. The prohibitionists felt that alcohol is a slow poison of their community. They felt that if the liquor industry was shut out that Americans would spend their hard earned money in the clothing, food, and shoe industries therefore boosting the American economy. Many felt, “Seeing what a sober nation can do is indeed a noble experiment and one that has never yet been tried, (Crowther, 11) Prohibition was a test of the strength of the nation and an attempt at cleaning up societies evils. These reformers denounce alcohol as a danger to society as well as to the human body. Some ethnic hopes of prohibition was to regulate the foreigners whose backgrounds consisted on the use of alcohol for religious purposes. And try to enforce an American valued society upon them. Many reformists felt that ending the use of alcohol would protect American homes and families. They felt that alcohol use was the root of their family’s destruction. Many women felt that their husbands would waste a lot of their income on the purchase of alcohol and not on family needs. Alcohol was often known as a “poison, or sin”. Another hope for the eighteenth amendment was to reduce the crime and death rate. Many people felt that drunkenness was the cause of many of the nations crimes. Prohibitionist felt very passionately on their cause and were often called “dry’s.” They felt their battle was justified and that, “it is manifest destiny that alcohol will not survive the scrutiny,”(Darrow and Yarros, 20).

    Read More

  • The Rise and Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Last Call,” provides the answers and explanations to these two questions and the historical viewpoint on the Prohibition Era. Daniel Okrent, who has authored four other books and is the first public editor of The New York Times, views Prohibition as one clash in a larger war waged by small-town white Protestants who felt overwhelmed by the forces of change that were sweeping their nation. He explains that this is a theory that was first proposed by the historian Richard Hofstadter more than five decades ago. Though many books and historical accounts have been written about Prohibition since then, Okrent offers an original account, which shows how its advocates combined the nativist fears of many Americans with legitimate concerns about the...

    Read More

  • Prohibition Synthesis Essay

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although both the coming and the arrival of the Great Depression did have some influence over the decision to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, other factors played a part – most importantly the simple fact that prohibition didn’t work. In the early 1920s and throughout the 1930s America suffered through a period of economic decline, and because of this, the government in particular, was in need of funds to fuel its weakening economy. Taxation on alcohol would contribute towards the resources for relief, and prevent higher taxes in other areas of business which would only compound the situation. Each year the government was missing out on a sum of around $500 million which would be brought in by a tax on alcohol, and would significantly help America during the crisis. As well as this, an end to prohibition would eliminate the costs required to enforce it – an extra expenditure the government could not afford at this time. Economically, an end to prohibition would help strengthen the unstable situation in America: ending unproductive government spending as well as bringing new money into the system. Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment would also meet social demands brought about by the crisis. Those facing hard times wanted to drink, and wanted an end to the law to allow them to do so more easily; thus the Great Depression added to the support for social groups already campaigning for its repeal. Both the economic and social effects of the Depression make it an important reason for the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, a concept supported by historian Joseph Gusfeld. However, this aspect, rather than directly causing the repeal of national prohibition, was the accelerating factor which catalysed the passing of the Twenty-first Ame...

    Read More

  • Temperance Movement In The 1800s

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    “By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year – three times as much as we drink today – and alcohol abuse (primarily by men) was wreaking havoc on the lives of many.” In the 1800s millions of Americans took a pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol. This was known as the Temperance Movement. The temperance movement was a reaction to the increase of alcohol consumption throughout the nation. The opposition to drinking originally stemmed from heath and religious reformers. These groups were crucial to American society for their efforts to tighten social controls. During this era, there were multiple citizens who believed some individuals were living unethically. “These people feared that God would no longer bless the United States and that these ungodly and unscrupulous people posed a threat to America's political system. To survive, the American republic, these people believed, needed virtuous citizens.” Due to these

    Read More

  • The Antebellum Temperance Movement

    1743 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many may say that the Antebellum Temperance Movement was primarily motivated by religious moralism. I tend to take that stance as well. The Antebellum Temperance Movement of the 18th century was focused around the idea that people, mostly men, should abstain from alcohol if they could not drink the spirits in moderation. In this era, many women had suffered greatly because their loved ones would imbibe excessively leaving them short on money, food, and even shelter which left many impoverished and unable to care for their families. Additionally, the excessive consumption of alcohol led to health care issues, crime and in the end, destitution. The first author, W.J. Rorabaugh, is a proponent on the side of how Christian ministers, “portrayed liquor as the tool of the devil and develop temperance societies as socialization institutions to ease social tensions and anxieties that contributed to alcohol consumption,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256) Appositionally, John J. Rumbarger opposes by stating that, “the nineteenth–century temperance reform was the product of the pro-capitalist market economy whose entrepreneurial elite led the way toward abstinence and prohibitionist campaigns. In order to guarantee the availability for a more productive workforce,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256). I agree with W.J. Rorabaugh that during the Antebellum Temperance Movement, the church’s played an enormous role in prohibiting alcohol consumption because it was the “tool of the devil”.

    Read More

  • American Temperance Movement

    1817 Words  | 4 Pages

    The desire to control alcohol consumption, or advocate temperance, has been a goal of humanity throughout countless periods of history. Many countries have had organized temperance movements, including Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Poland, and of course, the United States. The American temperance movement was the most widespread reform movement of the 19th century, culminating in laws that completely banned the sale of all alcoholic beverages. The movement progressed from its humble local roots to nationwide organizations with millions of members and large amounts of political power. The growth of the temperance movement resulted from the changes in society between the original American settlers and the post-Revolutionary War citizens. The Revolutionary War is the catalyst for the movement, and the new society that emerges out of it is the cause of the development of the American temperance movement.

    Read More

  • Temperance Movement and Opium

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Temperance Movement was aimed to promote abstinence from alcohol, to criticize those who consumed alcohol, and political influence was often used as well. It focused on abolishing alcohol consumption completely. Political influence was important because it led to laws that limited and regulated alcohol that eventually led to prohibition. “Temperance reformers typically were evangelical Protestants who regarded alcoholic beverages as harmful and even sinful for the individual drinker and for society at large. Supposedly, drink destroyed families and reputations and brought about poverty, disorder, and crime.” (Fahey, 2013) This movement stated that alcohol was dangerous for everyone. They believed that all individuals who drank would lose control of their drinking habits and would start encountering problems as a result of drinking. The Temperance Movement was just the beginning of what would eventually become the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States. The movement was be...

    Read More

  • The Success and Failure of the Prohibition

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prohibition originated in the nineteenth century but fully gained recognition in the twentieth century. The Prohibition was originally known as the Temperance Movement. In the 1820s and 1830s, a wave of religious revivalism developed in the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance, as well as other reform movements such as the abolition of slavery (“Prohibition”). These reforms were often led by middle class women. The abolition of slavery became a more important topic of debate until after the Civil War. By the turn of the century, temperance societies were a common thing throughout the communities in the United States (“Prohibition”). Women advocated the unity of the family, and they believed alcohol prevented such a thing. Drunken husbands only brought about negativity to the home, and women could not support that behavior. Suffragists, in their pursuit for voting rights, also sought to eliminate alcohol from the home. Small-scale legislation had been passed in several states, but no national laws had been enacted. On January 29, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by Congress; it banned t...

    Read More

  • Prohibition in the Great Gatsby

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prohibition was passed to eradicate the demand for liquor but had the inadvertent effect to raise the crime rates in American. Robert Scott stated, “Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America” (Scott 2). As the demand for alcohol increased, people began to find new methods to mask the production and consumption of liquor. It became easier to break the rules. Organized crime blossomed and many law-abiding citizens turned into criminals. Court and prisons systems became over run and the drinking habits of American's changed for the worse.

    Read More

  • The Prohibition Amendment

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Prohibition Amendment, which took effect on January 16, 1920, outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States and its territories, until its repeal on December 5, 1933. Today, Prohibition is often referred to as the “Noble Experiment” because it was created to reduce the adverse effects that alcohol had on families and society. Excessive consumption of alcohol, primarily by men, often resulted in domestic violence, poor work performance, and wasteful spending of wages on alcohol, which were needed to support families. Although the Prohibition Amendment did decrease alcohol-related consequences, ultimately this legislation should not have been enacted because it led to more organized crime and an increase of economic problems.

    Read More

  • Prohibition DBQ Essay

    790 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main reasons that Prohibition began is because “in the 1820s and ’30s, a wave of religious revivalism swept the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance.”(History Staff). Another major reason was because of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The union was one of the most supported women’s

    Read More

  • DBQ Prohibition Essay

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some believes that liquor prohibition was helpful with removing some of the America’s issues. That liquor was a huge drag on the economy. Also that drinking was behind America's most serious problems according to the background essay “Prohibition: Why Did America Change Its Mind?”. Drinking was behind serious issues such as corruption, child abuse, crime, unemployment and worker safety. That is not accurate mainly because during the prohibition, there was an enlargement of crime

    Read More

  • Prohibition

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    The prohibitionists had several motives for letting loose their concern of alcohol. The main issue discussed, using the example of the average middle-class citizen, was the aspect of growing children and the effect of alcohol on the family. Facts show that children with parents that have major drinking problems are more “defective” than children with parents that have little to no alcohol trouble (doc. B). Also, more generally, the prohibitionists tried vigorously to directly relate prohibition to progressivism. This was one of their key tactics to their eventually success with the 18th. The movement had strong backup that showed the world that they weren’t just a group of extremists fighting for a cause that probably wouldn’t work. Their emphasis on fact and reason kept them afloat; this is shown (in doc. C) with the statements of the American Medical Association, mentioning that they specifically discourage the use of alcohol, and it is said as “detrimental to the human economy.”

    Read More

  • Economic and Social Effects of Prohibition

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty, death rates, and improve both the economy, and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The prohibition amendment of the 1920's was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased liquor consumption, massive murder rates and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government wasn’t collecting taxes on the multi-billion dollar a year industry.

    Read More

More about Religious Communities and The Consumption of Alcohol

Open Document