ABOUT THE EVENT
Phoenixville Public Library will host a free online presentation, “Prohibition: Lessons Learned and Not Learned”, on Monday, June 22 at 7:00 PM. Historian Roger Arthur will be the speaker. Why would America enact laws against the use of alcohol? From earliest days Americans drank. They drank to celebrate weddings, Christenings, funerals, horse races, winning something, losing something, and so on. Americans in the 19th Century drank more than eighty gallons of whiskey per year per person. Early in the 1830s “The Second Great Awakening” advocated temperance along with the abolition of slavery, woman’s suffrage, an end to child labor and many other social reforms. By the latter part of the century the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti Saloon League were quite popular and prominent in small town America. Many states had “local option” laws limiting the sale of alcohol. Many counties in America voted themselves “dry.” Pressure from the Anti Saloon League and the WCTU early in the 20th Century became more than politics could stand. The enactment of several laws and amendments and American entry into WW I pushed the country closer to prohibition. The results were not what they expected. This is the story of lessons learned and not learned.
This event is free and open to the public and will be held online via Zoom. More information and required registration are available on the Adult Events Calendar at www.phoenixvillelibrary.org or by calling 610-933-3013 x132.
610-933-3013 x132
