Prohibition In Virginia And Local Areas: A Case Study

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The Effects of Prohibition in Virginia and Local Areas

Sean McNair

Norfolk State University

November 4, 2015

The prohibition era describes a moment in American history where the consumption of alcohol beverages was banned between the years 1913 and 1933. During this time the American congress dismissed all alcohol selling and consumption activities in various states in the U.S. following the requirements of the 18th amendment[footnoteRef:1]. The amendment was approved by the United States congress in the year 1917 and declared the manufacturing sale and transportation of alcoholic material in the country as illegal. The ramification of the amendment was approved by over two thirds of the American congress.
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As a result, southern progressives had to engage in a regional battle for decentralization. While southern residents articulated for local control, ASL used a central governing structure where all its operations were coordinated from its headquarters in Ohio. Therefore to convince the southerners ASL had a hard task in convincing the residents that they would still affect local control of the anti-alcoholism act. The organization would also face a hard task while trying to convince the African American minority to support the prohibition law. As a result, they had to convince the African American population in this region that the battle of wet versus dry would play a significant role in handing them some political power. Consequently, pro alcohol campaigners argued that ASL was working towards the empowerment of minority groups, which would not play well in the early 20th century[footnoteRef:14]. [14: Ibid …show more content…
For instance the manufacture of alcoholic beverages was allowed as long as it was not meant for resale within the state. In addition, if a person had purchased alcohol before the enactment of the prohibition law he or she was allowed to consume it. Even though the ASL had high hopes in Virginia, there were many issues that were to be faced while initiating the enactment. For instance, some of the neighboring states such as Washington D.C. had prohibited alcohol a year later hence offering an opportunity for smuggling alcohol into the county. Subsequently, rum smuggling was also observed from Maryland which did not adapt to the prohibition law. Additionally, the geographical structure of the Maryland coast made it appropriate for smugglers to sneak alcohol into the State from the neighboring Maryland state[footnoteRef:29]. [28: Robert Hohner, Prohibition Comes to Virginia: The Referendum of 1914. (VirginiaMagazine of History and Biography, 75. 1967) 473-488.] [29: