Prohibition

• battle over alcohol provided an arena for the mounting conflicts between modern and traditional, urban and rural, immigrant and native, catholic and protestant 
• alcohol was a symbol for culture clashes and created a divided society 
• protestants fought for prohibition because of the problems of drunkenness
• progressives championed prohibition  
•  reform big business
• tried to shut down saloons rather than controlling personal drinking habits 
• prohibition was associated with conservative anti-immigrant attitudes 
• believed cultures from eastern and southern Europe was embedding a culture of drink in America
• Opposition to prohibition began as a largely ethnic and working class phenomenon but large segments of the middle-class withdrew their support 
• prohibition brought dangerous loss of respect for law and order in this country 
• moral standards were changing 
• emphasized youth and self-fulfillment 
• challenged the traditional Victorian principles of the middle class
• It became socially acceptable for women to drink and drink socially with men  
• KKK was associated with prohibition