Dispute Over Citizens' Rights
"It became the thing to do, among students, flappers, and respectable middle-class Americans all over the country, to defy the law--as much a manifestation of personal liberty as a thirst for alcohol."
-- Edward Behr, Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America
-- Edward Behr, Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America
From the start of the debate, the Wets argued that the right
to drink was a personal freedom that couldn’t be revoked. Once the Prohibition amendment passed, Congressman Andrew
Volstead received numerous letters (and some death threats) from Americans angry over the government taking away their right to drink alcohol. Most of these letters claimed the
Amendment violated their personal liberties. However, there were other citizens who wrote to Volstead in support of Prohibition.
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