The Failure of Prohibition Essay - 3638 Words

The Failure of Prohibition There are many contributing factors to why prohibition was introduced on 16 January 1920. The two factors that I have chosen to answer the question, how did they contribute to prohibition being passed as a law, are the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). These both campaigned to try and get prohibition passed as a lawThe Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was formed in 1875 and was led by Frances Willard, but the movement of women to try and get prohibition passed as a law had started before this. It was Elizabeth Thompson who sat with friends outside the saloons of Kansas praying for the saloons to be closed down. This†¦show more content†¦They also said that women were the victims of drunken behaviour. It was often the case that women would be the subjects of beatings and violent behaviours towards their children. The WCTU also made the point that the women were being neglected because of the saloons. Their point was that the men would spend all of their hard-earned money in the saloons before they got home. These facts where told to the politicians by means of letters sent to them and rallies. The politicians now had to take notice of them and they couldn’t ignore the fact that prohibition was a popular law to be passed. ====================================================================== The WCTU also used the dangers of alcohol as another tactic to try and get the saloons closed down. They claimed that alcohol was damaging to health and said that by the men going to the saloons it was a risk for them, which in turn put stress on his family. The diseases that the WCTU blamed the alcohol for were gout, plasy, dropsy and epilepsy, but due to recent research it is now known that alcohol dose not cause these diseases but aggravates them. Another way that the WCTU contributed to the introduction of prohibition was to tell the people of America that their cultures were under threat. With the introduction of around 25 million immigrants, the WCTU said that prohibition would stop newShow MoreRelatedProhibition Failure II : Marijuana1460 Words   |  6 PagesProhibition Failure II: Marijuana The fight to legalize marijuana has been waged for decades and it’s about time that we find a resolution. I’m not a supporter of marijuana, I detest the culture associated with the drug and have no interest in consumption of the drug. But the effects of enforcing laws outlawing marijuana have done more harm than good in the US. 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