What did your research show? Were you able to figure out why your supposition was off-base?
That we could ever have outlawed booze is just stonkifying to my mind! Never would have believed it.
I am not saying that WWI was the only factor at work here, but it certainly was a contributing factor. Here are a couple of posters that were published at the time.
The "wets" did control congress at the time that the amendment passed, but each seat was won based on bigotry, religious, and patriotic rhetoric.
Most in congress at the time truly believed that the amendment would never be ratified by the individual states. The important thing here is that the members of congress protected themselves politically, avoiding the fallout by voting against the amendment.
Still, I just find it amazing. Consider..
- in most states, at the time, women did not have the vote until 1920. This means that it was mostly men that voted for prohibition.
- Most believed that prohibition would only ban hard liquor. That beer and wine would still be allowed, especially beer which many considered as a non-intoxicating beverage. It was the Volstead act that categorized wine and beer with hard liquor.
- Wine was allowed for religious purposes. This was one of the very few compromises made by the wets. As a result, for example, the number Jewish rabbis exploded due to the fact that they could legally posses wine and it was difficult to legally discern a real rabbi from a fake one.
- It was still legal to make wine at home (200 gallons).
