During Prohibition, Americans Were Shaken and Stirred

Iowa Culture
Sep 6, 2018 · 5 min read
This elegant cocktail shaker and two goblets are on display in “Spirited: Prohibition in America” at the State Historical Museum of Iowa. (Photo: EG Schempf)

Believe it or not, there was a time when the spigot ran dry on liquor in America.

In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ushered in Prohibition, making it illegal for Americans to manufacture, sell or transport “intoxicating beverages.” But the new law brewed up a potent blend of unintended consequences — drinking remained popular, the speakeasy replaced saloons and crime rose dramatically.

By 1933, the ban on liquor had become so unpopular that the United States repealed it with the 21st Amendment. In Iowa, that laid the groundwork for decades of revisionary lawmaking that eventually transferred retail sales of liquor from state control to the private sector.

“The country’s history with liquor has been a hodge-podge of laws and policies,” Iowa author and historian Jerry Harrington said. “Iowa actually tried to pass legislation as far back as the 1800s to control liquor and has been reviewing and adjusting liquor laws at different points ever since.”

That history is captured in “Spirited: Prohibition in America,” a new traveling exhibition on display at the State Historical Museum of Iowa through Oct. 20. It comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities with support from Mid-America Arts Alliance and was organized by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

When Prohibition was added to the U.S. Constitution, it held the same status as freedom of speech and the abolition of slavery. It also stirred up a passionate debate between the “wets” and “drys” that defined that tumultuous era.

Four women enjoyed a drink of beer in Spirit Lake in the 1890s. (Photo: State Historical Society of Iowa)

“Spirited” explores those times through flappers and suffragists, bootleggers and temperance lobbyists, and real-life legends, such as Al Capone and Carry Nation. It also examines the role of liquor in American culture, the cultural revolution of the roaring ’20s, the rise of organized crime, the spread of morality campaigns, and the development of alternatives to booze, such as Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine, “near beer” and Coca-Cola.

In addition, the State Historical Museum has created a companion display that explores Prohibition in Iowa with historical photos and artifacts from the State Historical Society of Iowa’s collection.

While Prohibition put a cork in the manufacturing, possession and sale of liquor, most Iowans could quaff a beer, take a shot or sip wine as long they “knew somebody,” State Curator Leo Landis said.

“If you knew the right people, you could get any beverage you wanted,” he said. “Especially in German, Czech, Irish or Italian communities — their cultural traditions ran deep and no federal or state law was going to stop them from enjoying a drink.”

In addition to the “Spirited” exhibition, the State Historical Museum is offering several related programs, including a Lunch & Learn lecture on Sept. 13; a screening of “Whiskey Cookers,” a documentary about Templeton, on Oct. 4; and a History on the Rocks after-hours program on Oct. 18.

Men gathered around a keg at an unknown Iowa location around 1910. (Photo: State Historical Society of Iowa)

Iowa’s Liquor Laws: A Timeline

Early Regulations, 1847–1873

Iowa passed its first law restricting alcohol and banned bars, known then as “dram shops.” A later law banned all alcohol except beer, apple cider and wine.

Reformers, 1874–1915

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union is founded in 1874. Iowa Republicans passed one of the toughest Prohibition laws in the country, but the Iowa Supreme Court struck it down the following year. The legislature passed another Prohibition law with a “local option” that allowed each county to decide its own liquor laws. The law remained in effect until 1893.

Prohibition in Iowa and the Nation, 1916–1932

A statewide prohibition law took effect in 1916. Three years later Iowa passed the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Prohibition took effect nationwide. Authorities raided Templeton bootleggers in 1929 and again in 1931.

State Control, 1933–1962

The 21st Amendment ended Prohibition in 1933, but Missouri legalized 3.2 percent beer earlier than Iowa, creating an interesting situation in the border town of Lineville, which straddles the Iowa-Missouri line. When Jack Craney of Lineville, Mo., received 75 cases of beer one day in 1933, 25 Iowans crossed the Missouri line to enjoy a few. The Des Moines Tribune reported that “residents of Lineville, Ia., and Lineville, Mo., made up the rather small group which assembled for the first test of the new brew. … As the first group lined up in a row on stools, bottles were raised to lips and a pause followed the first swallow. Considerable smacking followed as the taste was being determined and then came the testimonials as to quality. All in the group which partook of the first case opened lauded its strength and tastiness.”

Back in Iowa, consumers had to buy a permit from the Liquor Control Commission and present a special booklet to buy liquor. The state could repeal the permit if a county sheriff or a spouse filed a complaint about overindulgence.

Iowa native Billy Sunday made became famous first as a baseball player and then as a fiery evangelist who preached against drinking. (Photo: State Historical Society of Iowa)

The 1934 Liquor Act that established state liquor stores remained in effect until 1987. The first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Iowa took place in 1944.

By the Drink, 1963–1982

Gov. Harold Hughes, who described himself as a recovering alcoholic, supported the creation of the Class C liquor license, which allowed businesses to sell alcohol by the drink for on-site consumption.

Before that, key clubs offered members a locker where they could keep bottles for their personal use. The system was widely abused, so the legislature allowed liquor-by-the-drink sales in 1963.

Iowa’s legal drinking age was lowered from 21 to 19 in 1972 and lowered to 18 in 1973. Businesses with permits were allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays, but counties were allowed to prohibit Sunday sales until the law was repealed in 1977. A year later, Iowa’s legal drinking age goes up to 19.

Reaction and Deregulation, 1983–2015

Activists founded Iowa’s first Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Linn County, and the legislature passed a tougher drunken-driving law. Millstream Brewing opened in Amana in 1985, and Iowa’s legal drinking age rose from 19 to 21 in 1986.

In 1987, Iowa’s 207 retail liquor stores closed as 256 licensed private liquor outlets took over the sale of liquor. Summerset Winery opened near Indianola in 1997, Iowa lowered the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers from .10 to .08 in 2003, and the Iowa Wine Growers Association was established in 2010. That same year, Iowa micro-distilleries were allowed to sell their products for off-site consumption, high-alcoholic beers became legal, and winemakers were allowed to ship wine directly to consumers.

— Jeff Morgan, Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs

Iowa History

State Historical Society of Iowa. Preserving and providing access to Iowa History.

Iowa Culture

Written by

The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs empowers Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to resources. iowaculture.gov

Iowa History

State Historical Society of Iowa. Preserving and providing access to Iowa History.

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