Prohibition and Temperance – The UncommonWealth

Newspapers

“Attend to the Morals of Your Child”: Mrs. E.P. Elam’s Family Christian Album (1855-1856)

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of blog posts regarding Virginia female newspaper editors by our Transforming the Future of Libraries and…

Elena CarioSeptember 6, 2023

Newspapers

“Big Rock Candy Mountains Discovered Near Clintwood”

While searching for an unrelated newspaper article for a library patron, I stumbled upon a unique piece of local news reporting in the 28 October…

Rebecca SchneiderAugust 3, 2020

Archives

Oh Doctor! : Flu and Whiskey in 1918

Cover to sheet music for “Oh Doctor” by Billy Joyce and Rubey Cowan. (Mack Stark & Rubey Cowan Inc. Music Publishers, 1920. LVA Special Collections,…

Claire RadcliffeApril 3, 2020

Archives

Last Call: Women and the Repeal of Prohibition

National prohibition was officially repealed with the ratification of the 21st Amendment on 5 December 1933. Prohibition of the production and sale of alcoholic beverages…

Claire RadcliffeNovember 29, 2017

Archives Education & Programming

The Murder of John R. Moffett: Race, Politics, and Local Control

On the evening of 11 November 1892, attorney and Democratic Party operative John T. Clark shot and fatally wounded Reverend John R. Moffett on the…

Gregg KimballNovember 17, 2017

Newspapers

"Of Liquid Death, To Which Men Flee:" Temperance Reform Efforts in Antebellum Norfolk

Restricting the use of alcohol was not a novel idea in the Roaring Twenties when Prohibition banned illicit spirits nationwide. Inspired by the reforming impulses…

John DealSeptember 27, 2017

Archives Manuscripts & Special Collections

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Letterhead in the Archive, Prohibition Edition

As promised in a previous post, here’s another look at some of the plethora of letterheads and stationery found in our archives. In honor of our current…

Vince BrooksSeptember 6, 2017

Archives

"Breeding Places of Drunkenness:" Prohibition Crackdowns and UVA Football

College students have never been known for their avoidance of alcohol, and it was no different in the 1930s, despite the fact that alcohol was…

Claire RadcliffeAugust 30, 2017

Archives

Drink Wet and Vote Dry

One of the hallmarks of the age of Prohibition is a certain level of contradiction. After all, the country was supposed to be entirely dry;…

Claire RadcliffeJuly 26, 2017

Archives

“I Could Not Tell Who Was Shooting”: The Death of Lump Moore

When Petersburg’s coroner filled out the death certificate for farmer Lump Moore, he wrote a simple “no” in answer to the question, “Was disease or…

Meghan TownesJune 28, 2017

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

The Temperance Movement and The Road to Prohibition

From the earliest days of European settlement, Americans drank prodigious amounts of alcohol. Almost every aspect of early American economic and social life involved alcohol.…

Dana PugaMay 18, 2017

Education & Programming Newspapers

Woe Unto Him: Anti-Liquor on Virginia Chronicle & Say Goodbye to Booze tonight at the LVA

In conjunction with the Library of Virginia’s current exhibition, Teetotalers & Moonshiners: Prohibition in Virginia, the Virginia Newspaper Project has made its sole issue of…

Kelley EwingMay 5, 2017

Governor E. Lee Trinkle Executive Papers, 1923.

Archives

Pardon Me

Within the records of Governor E. Lee Trinkle (1922-1926) are several boxes relating to extraditions and pardons of prisoners. I came across one letter from Leroy…

Renee SavitsApril 26, 2017

The Lincoln Legion, Governor Henry C. Stuart Executive Papers, 1916.

Archives

Drying Out Dixieland: The Confederacy and Prohibition

What do prohibition and the American Civil War have in common? More than you may think. The debate over prohibition in Virginia, which culminated in…

Claire RadcliffeApril 19, 2017

Education & Programming Newspapers

Prelude to Prohibition: The State Referendum Vote September 22, 1914: The Recorder, Post & Enterprise

It was Wet vs. Dry and City vs. Country and Dry Country won. It wasn’t even close. The advocates for Prohibition themselves might have been…

Henry MorseApril 11, 2017