Prohibition Hangover-- Part 2: Not All That It Was Cracked Up to Be

"Prohibition had a lot of unintended consequences which backfired on the people who worked so hard to establish the law,: said Lisa McGirr, whose 2015 book "The War on Alcohol" examines Prohibition's political and social repercussions.

"It helped to activate and enfranchise men and women who had not been a part of the political process earlier,: she said.  "That was not the intention of the Prohibition supporters."

Ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919, which set the stage for Prohibition's launch a year later, culminated in a century of advocacy by the temperance movement.  Leading forces included the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League and many Protestant denominations.  

Prohibition supporters assailed the effect of booze on families and the prominent role that saloons played in immigrant communities.

Prohibition greatly expanded federal law enforcement powers and turned millions of Americans into scofflaws.  It provided a new revenue stream for organized crime.

--Cooter

More on Ohio Presidents-- Part 5: Two More First Ladies and "Now Dear, I Hope You're Happy" and "Lemonade Lucy"

JULIA GRANT--  (Julia Dent)   was the first First Lady to write her memoirs.  Upon taking the Oath of Office for the presidency, Grant turned to his wife and said, "Now dear, I hope you're happy."

LUCY HAYES--  (Lucy Ware Webb)--    She was a member of the National Women's  Temperance League.  Once Rutherford took office as president, Lucy convinced him that alcohol should be banned from the White House.

After the decree became known, Lucy received the name "Lemonade Lucy."

Because of her  high moral principles , she was admired by many women of the day.    One reporter referred to her as "The First Lady" and that term is used even to this day for the wife of the president.

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Ohio has had six women born in the state who served as First Ladies:  Lucy Webb Hayes, Lucretia Randolph Garfield, Caroline Scott Harrison, Ida Saxton McKinley, Helen Herron Taft and Florence DeWolf Harding.

--Cooter

Looking Back to 1916: The Anti-Saloon League Battling "Demon Drink"

From the January 27, 2016, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1916, 100 Years Ago:  "With the exception of a very few churches in which Anti-Saloon meetings have been held of late, there were stirring local option sermons given in all churches of this county yesterday, at either the morning or evening services.

"The day was a field day for the Anti-Saloon League and some hard raps were taken at the Demon Drink, who was castigated to beat the bands.

"The county is dry now and the aim of the league is to keep it so and also to secure an even closer degree of law observance than has obtained in the past."

The Anti-Saloon League operated from 1893 to 1933 with the motto "The Saloon Must Go."

No Drinking, In Other Words.  --CootDry

Smithsonian Military Posters 2015 Calendar for September

"THE WORLD CRY FOOD"

Poster showing the three men you're used to seeing for the American Revolution, the Spirit of '76, marching along, only instead of weapons and a drum they are carrying baskets of food and one has wheat stalks slung over his shoulder.

At the upper left hand side are the words "The Spirit of '18."  Under them the words "The World Cry Food:  Keep the Home Garden Going.  United States Food Administration."

The Spirit of 18, The World Cry Food, Keep the Home Garden Going by William McKey, United States Food Administration, 1918.

One of the issues faced by the U.S. Food Administration was whether agricultural resources needed for food should be used to produce beer, wine and liquor.  Supporters of the temperance movement argued, unsurprisingly, that because of the need for food conservation, the government should impose an unofficial prohibition to prevent food from being used to make alcoholic beverages.

--DaCoot