Posters For or Against Prohibition

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Posters For or Against Prohibition

Both of these sources, C and D were produced by the anti-saloon

league; founded in 1893 in Ohio. The anti-saloon league was an

organisation opposed to the sale of alcohol. Therefore both of these

posters are going to be supporting prohibition.

Source C is titled “The Poor Man’s club. The most expensive in the

world to belong to” This is trying to say that because alcohol was so

expensive, the people that go to bars become poor because they spend

all their money on alcohol. There is also a man handing over a small

bag labelled “week’s wages” on the poster and this is trying to show

that people are spending so much money in pubs that they don’t have

any money left for other things. Towards the bottom of the poster it

says “a club member in good standing. Paying his dues” and is

referring to the man handing over his weeks wages which are

effectively his ‘subs’ to be in the ‘poor man’s club’. At the bottom

of the poster it says “slaves of the saloon” which is trying to say

that these people can’t leave the saloon because of the addiction from

the alcohol. Near the bottom of the poster there is a picture of a

woman collapsed at home, with bills on the floor and two children

sitting at an empty table, a caption reads “the saloon’s well named

the poor man’s club. It keeps its members and their families always

poor” This is trying to show people that if they go to the saloons and

spend their money, they will become poor and stay poor and is also

showing what alcohol is doing to families- its wrecking families and

leaving them poor. The bills on the floor show that they cannot pay

off their bills because of the man spending all his money on alcohol.

The fact that the mother and children are collapsed at an empty table

shows that because of the man spending all of his money on alcohol

they cannot afford to buy food and so are starving.

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