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PROHIBITIONby
Archie P. McDonald, PhD | |
A memorable scene
in John Ford's "The Quiet Man," filmed in Ireland, features Barry Fitzgerald
saying one word with an expression on his face as if he spoke with a mouthful
of castor oil: "Prohibition!"
The proscription of alcohol beverages offended
this Irishman and many in Texas, where it was also the most pervasive issue in
state politics from the 1870s until 1915.
The thrust to improve society
through political power is as old as humanity, but we see it earliest in America
among colonial Puritans. They were the folk eager to use the state to enforce
religious regularity, although curiously they did not use it against alcohol except
in abuse.
Our nation witnessed a real pre-Civil War effort to ban the
bottle through the efforts of the American Temperance Union. Most Texas towns
then hosted a chapter of the Union, and it usually counted some of the community's
leading citizens among its members. Some were hypocrites, of course, in that they
wished to deny the sauce to others while continuing to indulge themselves. That
was not quite what the Congress of the Republic of Texas meant when it passed
the first "local-option" law in America, but it is another definition
of the term.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union renewed the struggle
after the Civil War. In 1887, their supporters forced a vote on a statewide prohibition
amendment that failed by 90,000 votes. But the banners of booze still had the
"local-option" option, and by 1895 they had prevailed completely in
53 counties and partially in precincts in another 79 counties. The Progressive
Era at the turn of the century renewed the enthusiasm of "dry" Texans
for their cause. The period's emphasis on social justice and improving society
complemented the historic program of prohibitionists nicely. And World War I helped
their cause immensely. Numerous training facilities in Texas congregated thousands
of young men from throughout the nation and, it was argued, lawmakers owed it
to the mothers of America to protect their boys from alcohol.
Texas Senator
Morris Sheppard introduced the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution banning
the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors."
Texans ratified the amendment in 1918, and it became the law of the land on January
16, 1919. That same year the legislature added the good measure of a state prohibition
amendment as well.
One wag observed that on the day prohibition became
effective 2,500 saloons closed and 5,000 illegal stills went into operation. Correct
or not, this suggests a reality: efforts to criminalize an activity in which a
majority are determined to participate usually creates different problems.
Prohibition remained until the ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment
to the US Constitution on December 5, 1933, though it recognized a statešs authority
to ban liquor within its own borders.
The struggle continues.
All
Things Historical
Sept.
29-Oct. 5, 2002 column
A syndicated column in over 40 East Texas newspapers
(Archie P. McDonald is Director of the East Texas Historical Association
and author or editor of over 20 books on Texas) |
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