Speakeasies, rum runners, and backwoods fundamentalists railing about the ills of strong drink are just one small part of the global story of prohibition. The full story of prohibition—one you’ve probably never been told—is perhaps one of the most broad-based and successful transnational social movements of the modern era. The call for temperance motivated and aligned activists within progressive, social justice, labor rights, women’s rights, and indigenous rights movements advocating for communal self-protection against the corrupt and predatory “liquor machine” that had become rich off the misery and addictions of the poor around the world.
From the slums of South Asia, to the beerhalls of Central Europe, to the Native American reservations of the United States, discover 20 key figures from history that you didn’t know were prohibitionists.
Abraham Lincoln
Full name: Abraham Lincoln
Lived: 12 February 1809-15 April 1865
Nationality: United States
Occupation: lawyer, politician
Given his mythic status in the late nineteenth century, president Abraham Lincoln was the subject of much contestation among both pro- and anti-prohibitionist forces. “Honest Abe” was famously dry, delivering temperance addresses to the Washingtonian Temperance Society in Springfield, and refusing to serve alcohol at White House functions. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Stephen Douglas impugned Lincoln’s character by labeling him a “grocery keeper,” meaning someone who sells liquor on the sly. There is no evidence of this, and Lincoln steadfastly denied the allegation. During his years as an Illinois lawyer, he successfully defended women accused of smashing local saloons, and was the motivating force behind Illinois’ statewide “Maine Law” prohibition in 1855.
Recent Comments
There are currently no comments.