Argument Against Prohibition

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At the end of World War I, Americans began to live their lives differently after they had overcome the worst conflict the world had ever seen. They began to enjoy themselves more and the country saw many social, political, and economic changes. During this time, alcohol consumption increased in South Carolina and across the country. Due to social and economic problems caused by alcohol, efforts to stop alcohol consumption were attempted. Groups like the Anti-Saloon League were brought together to gather support for Prohibition. Prohibition was meant to eliminate the market of alcohol and also limit its consumption. Other people, such as saloon owners and alcohol consumers, were against Prohibition. During the 1930s, the conflict between alcohol …show more content…
It was non-partisan, contained both men and women, and had branches across the country. A professor at the State University of New York, David Hanson says “the League’s main base of support was among Protestant churches in rural areas and the South” (Anti-Saloon League: Promoted Prohibition Aggressively). In order to increase awareness and gather more support for Prohibition, the Anti-Saloon League created the American Issue Publishing Company. The publishing Company had about 200 employees and operated 24 hours a day. Professor David Hanson states “within the first three years of its operation, [The Anti-Saloon League] was producing about 250,000,000 (one-quarter billion) book pages per month” (Anti-Saloon League: Promoted Prohibition Aggressively). The Anti-Saloon League argued that alcohol was immoral and unhealthy for the body and society. In an article about the League, David Hanson claims “the Anti-Saloon League stressed its religious character. It acted for churches and, therefore, was working for God. Anything it did was moral because it was working to bring about the Lord’s will” (Anti-Saloon League: Promoted Prohibition Aggressively). Anti-Saloon League members investigated crimes and illegal actions that involved alcohol along with attempting to stop humans from consuming intoxicating liquors (Anti-Saloon League: Promoted Prohibition Aggressively). The Communication Services of Ohio State University says “the League promoted medical and social investigations of the use of beverage alcohol, and it affiliated with other groups, such as the Scientific Temperance Federation, to promote advanced knowledge about the problems associated with the liquor trades” (Dry Arguments). The Anti-Saloon League worked with other groups so they could investigate alcohol based crimes during the Prohibition

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