The Temperance Movement Grows
While O’Connor was cleaning the streets of St. Paul, the nation was battling over alcohol. The temperance movement had been brewing in the United States since the 1820s, formally organizing in 1826 as the American Temperance Union. Members saw alcohol as the driving force behind the erosion of public morals and damage to families. The movement wanted the government to impose controls on alcohol. Their efforts resulted in local laws imposing restrictions on alcohol production and sale. Many counties and states passed prohibition regulations between 1905 and 1917. Some of these regulations are still in place; Lynchburg, Tennessee is still a “dry” county. Ironically, it is also home to the Jack Daniels distillery, one of the most prolific whiskey makers in the world. But the nation would be rocked with the passing of the 18th Amendment officially enacting Prohibition across the United States.