Changes

The Progressive Era, which overlapped with the growth of the WCTU and the construction of temperance fountains, was a period of upheaval in the United States that in some ways mirrors the reform movements of the 1830s. Once again, there was a great surge in the belief in the perfectibility of human society. One difference, however, was the equally firm belief in the role of the government in implementing this perfect society. While the WCTU and the temperance fountains relied on appeals to the morality of individuals, the Progressive Era attempted to bring about societal change through the enforcement powers of government. Natural landscapes, political processes, economic and industrial power, and individual morality all came under scrutiny for regulation by newly powerful state organizations interested in the creation of an orderly society ruled by certified experts. The Progressive Era also encouraged participation in government and benefitted the Prohibition Movement with the passage of two other constitutional amendments, the 16th, and 19th amendments. The 16th amendment allowed the federal government to levy personal income taxes, which provided a new revenue stream that could replace excise taxes placed on alcohol. The 19th amendment granted the right to vote to women, who were proportionally more likely to support prohibition.

Natural landscapes, political processes, economic and industrial power, and individual morality all came under scrutiny for regulation by newly powerful state organizations interested in the creation of an orderly society ruled by certified experts. The Progressive Era also encouraged participation in government and benefitted the Prohibition Movement with the passage of two other constitutional amendments, the 16th, and 19th amendments. The 16th amendment allowed the federal government to levy personal income taxes, which provided a new revenue stream that could replace excise taxes placed on alcohol. The 19th amendment granted the right to vote to women, who were proportionally more likely to support prohibition.  In addition to these national political trends, there were societal changes that also spurred the United States towards a national prohibition of alcohol. As the nation continued to industrialize, some of the same concerns about discouraging drinking resurfaced, but the nation was also divided over prohibition along ethnic lines. Roman Catholics, who were largely part of the “new immigrant” waves that dominated the latter 19th and early 20th century, rejected any proposed ban on alcohol. Many major Protestant churches, including Methodists and Baptists, favored prohibition as a moral issue.  Breaking down into “wet” (favoring the continued legalization of alcohol) and “dry” (favoring prohibiting alcohol) camps, the issue became a major political force that exposed many of America’s fractures along ethnic, religious, and geographic lines. Some states, particularly in the South and West, outlawed alcohol on their own before a federal ban was in place. To this day, many local municipalities ban alcohol, and many more have a partial ban that prevents the sale of alcohol on particular days or at particular times. All of these laws are legacies of the nationwide move toward the total prohibition of alcohol, and the geographic distribution of these laws still reflects the strongholds of the Prohibition movement of the early 20th century.