The Prohibition Era Quiz

Prohibition in the United States

• Prohibition was not possible until 1916 due to insufficient dry states, but the Anti-Saloon League's influence in Congress led to the passage of the 18th Amendment.
• The 18th Amendment, proposed in 1919, was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, but the veto was overridden by both the House and the Senate, leading to its ratification.
• The Volstead Act, passed in 1919, provided the framework for enforcing the Prohibition Amendment and was enforced by Congress and the Treasury Department through the IRS.
• Speakeasies, hidden bars selling bootlegged or smuggled alcohol, thrived during Prohibition, leading to unintended consequences such as rising organized crime and assault rates.
• The 18th Amendment caused political division, with about 60% in favor of prohibition, mainly supported by Evangelical Protestants and groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• Prohibition was primarily supported in the midwestern and southern United States, while the northeastern states and men, who were the largest consumers of alcohol, opposed it.
• The end of prohibition was influenced by Franklin Roosevelt's election in 1929, with the Great Depression and the 21st Amendment gaining strong support from working-class families who had suffered losses.
• The end of prohibition was almost guaranteed with the election of Franklin Roosevelt to the presidency in 1929. Roosevelt made the repeal of prohibition a central focus of his campaign, winning him strong favor among the public.
• The stock market crash of 1929 that began the Great Depression also was a major factor in the passing of the 21st Amendment.
• The 21st Amendment was strongly supported by working class men families who had lost almost everything in the Great Depression.

Prohibition in America: Key Players and Movements

• Prohibition in America was influenced by moral persuasion and political figures, not just religion.
• Woodrow Wilson, Howard Taft, and John D. Rockefeller had significant influence on prohibition.
• President Howard Taft opposed prohibition during his presidency due to enforcement concerns.
• Woodrow Wilson initially vetoed the Eighteenth Amendment but later supported its enforcement.
• Proponents like John D. Rockefeller pressured political figures and citizens to reduce alcohol consumption.
• Wet supporters, including the Anti-Prohibition Society of America and the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform, opposed prohibition.
• The Women's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1874, was influential in the Progressive Era and supported prohibition.
• They organized pray-ins and protests, leading to alcohol bans in over 250 communities by 1874.
• The Women's Christian Temperance Union had over 150,000 members by the early 20th century and influenced the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment.
• The Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1893, was a major proponent of prohibition and worked to pass the 18th Amendment.
• The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture and transport of alcohol in the United States.
• The amendment was a long process, with Maine being the first state to individually ban liquor in 1851.