What was Prohibition?

Abstract or Introduction

The 19th century was a period of great change in the United States of America. Industrialization had changed the country’s economy, and urbanization and immigration were significantly reshaping American society. People were then faced with the negative consequences of progress: Crime, prostitution and gambling flourished in the new climate of anonymity of the cities, poverty increased and sexual immorality became more of a problem. In this situation the importance of religion, morals and education increased, and as a consequence a strong counter movement developed in order to put an end to the moral decline that took place in American society. This may be the reason why the temperance movement that had existed in the United States since its very beginnings, suddenly augmented into the call for nationwide prohibition. In this essay, I want to outline the background of that movement followed by its development in the course of time. The most important factors when dealing with prohibition will be to investigate the forces behind the campaign as well as their motivation. I will then continue by describing the notion of nativism and point out its connection to the movement for a dry America. This way I want to show that, although the motives of prohibition were various, nativist propaganda against immigrants did play a major part in the success of the movement among white protestant middle class.