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Maine prohibits alcohol
Maine was the second state in the history of America to attempt a statewide prohibition, and it turned out to be a major success. The first state was Georgia which prohibited alcohol over 100 years earlier and failed to last more than seven years. -
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Alcohol Prohibition in The United States
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12 other states have enacted prohibition legislation
These states became known as the "dry states." -
National Prohibition Party is founded
Its first National Committee Chairman was John Russell of Michigan. It succeeded in getting communities and also many counties in the states to outlaw the production and sale of intoxicating beverages. -
Kansas became the first dry state
Kansas became the first state to add prohibition to their state legislature. -
National Prohibition Party elects first member to the House of Representatives
Thomas J. Geary is the first member from the National Prohibition Party to be elected to Congress. -
Anti-Saloon League
This league was founded in 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio. It became nationwide in 1895. It was a huge vocal point for the passing of the 18th Amendment. In 1950, the group's name was changed to the National Temperance League. It 1964 it changed its name again to the American Council on Alcohol Problems. -
Volstead Act is instituted
The United States passes the Volstead Act which helped set up the passage of the 18th Amendment. -
The Wartime Prohibition Act
The Wartime Prohibition Act is passed to help save grain for the war during World War I. -
18th Amendement
This constituational amendment voted that the United States go dry. -
The Rise of the Bootleggers in the 1920's
Bootleggers were people who made, sold, or transported alcoholic beverages for sale illegally. -
Improvement
By 1921, the death rate from alcoholism was cut by 80 percent from pre-war levels. -
Speakeasies arose
A speakeasy is an establishment that illegally sells alcohol. By 1927, a total of 30,000 illegal Speakeasies in the United States. -
Eliot Ness Begins to Tackle Violators of Prohibition
Eliot Ness begins in earnest to tackle violators of prohibition and Al Capone's gang in Chicago. He becomes known as the leader of a group called "The Untouchables." -
Prohibition opponets
Opponents argue that alcohol consumption declined dramatically during the Prohibition Era. By 30 - 50%. Deaths from Cirrhosis of the liver for men fell from 29.5 per 100,000 in 1911, to 10.7 per 100,000 in 1929.
Pictured is a patient with Cirrhosis. -
St. Valentines Day Massacre
This desperation for alcohol and the desperation to prohibit it often led to murder and violence, including 1929's St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. -
Al Capone arrested
The notorious gangster Al Capone is arrested. Al Capone was one of the biggest influences on bootlegging during the prohibition. He was also known for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. -
Getting worse
In 1932 a statemen was released by John D. Rockefeller saying, "Drinking has generally increased, the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers have been recruited and financed on a colossal scale." -
Herbert Hoover Discusses Prohibition and the Need for Its End
Herbert Hoover gave an acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination for president in which he discussed the ills of prohibition and the need for its end. -
Franklin D Roosvelt signs Cullen-Harrison Act
This act legalized the manufacturing of certain alcoholic beverages. -
21st amendment
Prohibition is repealed in all states.