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Rev. Lyman Beecher’s Six Sermons of Intemperance
Reverand Lyman Beecher preaches against the evils of alcohol – Sermon 1: "Nature and Occasions of Intemperance" -
The Absolute Shall
The Washingtonians' society of reformed drunkards formed at a tavern in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1840, widely considered a precursor to Alcoholics Anonymous. -
A Strange Quiet
Maine was the first state to prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquor in 1851, after Neal Dow, the mayor of Portland, gathered thousands of signatures on a petition demanding the state legislature enact a law. The law was later repealed in 1856. -
Civil War
The defending Confederate army failed, leading to Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. All Confederate generals surrendered by that summer. The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. -
Woman’s Crusade
Eliza Thompson led women in 1873 to sing hymns against alcohol in Visitation Bands to protest saloons and petition drug stores who filled prescriptions. -
Hatchetation (The Prohibition Party)
The Prohibition Party formed in 1876. A prohibition amendment to the Kansas state constitution went into effect in 1881 (the 2nd state, after Maine, to ban the manufacture and sale of alcohol). Starting in Kiowa, Kansas in 1900, Carry Nation began a 10 year crusade of smashing up saloons. Carry Nation became the most celebrated – and most controversial – temperance champion of her time. -
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WWI
It is a myth that the First World War somehow "caused" the United States to enact prohibition. The prohibition movement was already very powerful before the nation declared war in 1917--the dry forces had already elected two-thirds majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States Congress. When the elections of 1916 concluded, both wets and drys knew that the battle was nearly over. -
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, is passed on October 28, 1919. The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, largely on technical grounds because it also covered wartime prohibition, but his veto was overridden by the House on the same day, October 28, 1919, and by the Senate one day later
