https://womensmuseum.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/the-women-who-repealed-prohibition/What roledid women play in ending the era of prohibition?
TheTemperance Movement, led by women, believed that the prohibition of alcohol wouldsolve many social ills affecting families in the progressive era. Theexperiment of prohibition did not work out like the temperancemovement had hoped and it wasn’t long until groups of women organized again andproclaimed that in order to protect families from the corruption, violentcrime, and underground drinking that resulted from prohibition the 18thamendment should be repealed.
Notable women’s organizations in favor of repeal included theWomen’s Moderation Union, Molly Pitcher’s Club, and the Women’s Organizationfor National Prohibition Reform. The organizations mobilized women and gavevisibility to women who were opposed to the 18th amendment.
Women’s Organization for NationalProhibition Reform
TheWONPR was founded in 1929 by former prohibition supporter Pauline Sabin. Sabincame to the conclusion that the social experiment of prohibition had failed andthat it was actually counterproductive solving the problems the Temperancemovement was concerned about. Her group challenged the idea that all women inthe United Statessupported the 18th amendment. Temperance was long seen as a women’s issue,playing a central role in the women’s movement. When women got the right tovote in 1920 it was assumed they would vote together as a block on politicalissues, sabin’s split with the pro-prohibition movement proved that women couldbe independent thinkers and they wouldn’t always be on the same side of theissues.
The WONPR grew to be one of the largestanti-prohibition organization in the country and was several times largerthan the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Sabins become a key publicfigure in the fight to repeal prohibition and on July 18, 1932, Sabin wasfeatured on the cover of Time Magazine.
In a speech to the House Judiciary Committee she argued forrepeal “”In pre-prohibition days, mothers had little fear in regard to thesaloon as far as their children were concerned. A saloon-keeper’s license wasrevoked if he were caught selling liquor to minors. Today inany speakeasy in the United States you can find boys and girls in theirteens drinking liquor, and this situation has become so acute that the mothersof the country feel something must be done to protect their children.”
Molly Pitcher Club
The Molly Pitcher Club was named after Revolutionary folkheroine Molly Pitcher who was known for carrying water to men on thebattlefield. The club was an all women’s group founded in 1922 by the secretaryto Tammany Hall leader Thomas Foley, M. Louise Gross. Their mission of themembers, called Molly Pitchers, was to prevent “any tendency on the partof our National Government to interfere with the personal habits of theAmerican people except those habits which may be designated as criminal”.
They argued that prohibition took away personal liberty andthat in order to limit the problems of saloons the government should havestrict control over the sale of alcohol, but not ban the substances altogether.
Women’s Moderation Union
Another organization headed by M. Louise Gross. Like otherwomen’s anti-prohibition groups it helped shine a light on the fact that notall women in the United States favored prohibition.
Gross believed in enhancing women’s political voice and wantedpoliticians in Washinton to realize how many women were opposed to prohibition.The group promoted personal liberty and accountability and that thegovernment should not interfere with the private lives of American citizens.
Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment to the USConstitution on December 5th, 1933. The experiment of alcohol prohibition onlylasted 13 years.
