On this day in history in 1838, the state of Tennessee passed a bill that prohibited the sale of all alcoholic beverages. This was the first prohibition law to be established in the United States.
Although the 18th Amendment, more commonly referred to as the Prohibition Amendment, did not come into effect until 1919, the call for the nationwide ban on alcohol began over 100 years before this date. In the early 19th century, individuals started to voice their concerns on the consumption of alcohol by the American public. A large percentage of these individuals were women, many of whom suffered abuse from their husbands after a night of excessive drinking.
With the growing concern on the adverse effects of alcohol, members of the community came together to form various temperance societies. Their purpose? To promote a world of sobriety and purity, lobbying local and federal governments to ban both the sale and production of liquor. One of the most famous of these societies was the WCTU, or the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Despite the WCTU attempts, and attempts made by law-enforcement offices, Prohibition did not stop individuals from drinking. The "Roaring Twenties" brought a new drinking culture to America, consisting of speakeasies, bootleggers, and gangsters, the most infamous of the prohibition era being Al Capone. In 1933, the government ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment and thus ending the Prohibition era.