Poster Session #2
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Kyle Volk
Faculty Mentor’s Department
History
Abstract / Artist's Statement
The main concern for both sides of the prohibition debate of the 1920s for women was the safety and well-being of Americans, but both sides offered different solutions. The WONPR advocated for the repeal of Prohibition and the WCTU sought better enforcement of Prohibition. Women flocked to the repeal movement in the 1920s and 1930s because Prohibition failed to live up to the expectations set by temperance groups prior to the ratification of the 18th Amendment. The crime rates were not lowered, people did not quit drinking, and the speakeasies were substituted for saloons. The idea that all women must support temperance frustrated many women, and they sought to end Prohibition through their recently gained political rights along with adapting rhetoric from the temperance movement, resulting in the end of Prohibition. Women who supported repeal were upset with the expectation to support one side of an issue just because it was expected of them as women. The repeal movement challenged the notion that all women supported prohibition and temperance.
Category
Humanities
Wets, Drys, and Hypocrites: Women and the Repeal of Prohibition
UC South Ballroom
The main concern for both sides of the prohibition debate of the 1920s for women was the safety and well-being of Americans, but both sides offered different solutions. The WONPR advocated for the repeal of Prohibition and the WCTU sought better enforcement of Prohibition. Women flocked to the repeal movement in the 1920s and 1930s because Prohibition failed to live up to the expectations set by temperance groups prior to the ratification of the 18th Amendment. The crime rates were not lowered, people did not quit drinking, and the speakeasies were substituted for saloons. The idea that all women must support temperance frustrated many women, and they sought to end Prohibition through their recently gained political rights along with adapting rhetoric from the temperance movement, resulting in the end of Prohibition. Women who supported repeal were upset with the expectation to support one side of an issue just because it was expected of them as women. The repeal movement challenged the notion that all women supported prohibition and temperance.