“Prohibition,” the national ban on alcohol production and sale, ended with the repeal of the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution. As this article in the Greenfield Daily Recorder Gazette shows that the repeal of prohibition did not end conflicts over the sale of alcohol. In fact, national repeal returned the debate to the local level, where it had been an important part of 19th and early 20th century politics. This article discusses in some detail conflicts between “drys” (anti-alcohol) and “wets” (against restrictions on alcohol) in various towns in Franklin County, Massachusetts. Towns with larger, more urbanized populations tended to support alcohol sales. Smaller rural communities tended to oppose it. Ethnic and religious divisions fueled heated debates over alcohol consumption and sale.
Greenfield Daily Recorder-Gazette. “County Towns Long Alternated On Allowing Local Liquor Sale.” December 8, 1934. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l08-050/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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