In 1919, after decades of a national temperance campaign urging voluntary abstinence from alcohol, voters ratified the 18th amendment prohibiting alcohol’s manufacture and sale. A demand for sober workers during wartime helped usher in the amendment during World War I. New York City, with its famed nightlife and saloon culture, was at the center of the debate that continued to rage after the enactment of “Prohibition.” 

While advocates of Prohibition pointed to improving the health and moral standing of the entire populace, their campaigns often pitted Anglo-Protestants against immigrants and working-class New Yorkers. Supporters blamed immigrants and workers for the widespread violation of the law once enacted, and New Yorkers who frequented saloons—places to drink but also to hold union meetings, speak native languages, and sometimes vote in local elections—claimed they were unfairly targeted by law enforcement. As Prohibition wore on, foreign-born and working-class New Yorkers argued that it infringed on civil liberties and was un-American.

Uneven enforcement and the continued circulation of illegal alcohol led to widespread lawbreaking, corruption, and a nationwide backlash. Opposition to Prohibition by elected officials and grassroots organizations in New York, including Governor Al Smith, Congressman Fiorello La Guardia, and the Manhattan-based Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR), increased throughout the 1920s. 

In 1933, the 21st amendment repealed the 18th—the only time an amendment has been entirely repealed. An early “culture war,” the controversy concerned not just alcohol, but also the government’s power to regulate behavior.