Rise And Fall Of Prohibition In Canada

Essay, Research Paper

Rise and Fall of Prohibition in Canada”Though all the winds of doctrine were let loose to play uponthe earth, so Truth be in the field, we do injuriously bylicensing and prohibiting to misdoubt her strength. Let her andFalsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in afree and open encounter.”- Areopagitica Canadian Temperance groups began to rally for prohibitionduring the 1840’s and 1850’s. It was not until after World WarI began in 1914, that the temperance groups’ support forprohibition grew. A need for grain for the armed forces wasviewed as a major catalyst for Canada’s Prohibition Law.Although Canada’s Prohibition Era only lasted two years from1917 to 1919, it created the stage for many historic successesand failures in Canada. This paper looks at the emergence,successes, and failures of Prohibition of Alcohol in Canada.Particular emphasis is placed upon Nova Scotia that, along withManitoba, scored a large majority in favour of prohibitionduring the national plebiscite on the matter held by the LaurierFederal Government in 1898.1 This national support ofprohibition, when provinces in Canada were only moderately infavour, and Quebec strongly opposing,2 created an interestingparadox in the shaping of Canada’s history. Though largely seen unfavourably today, prohibition didhave some partially successful facets in its overall focus.Prohibition forces argued that alcohol led to an increase incrime and other anti-social behaviours. Substantial reductionsin the amount of alcohol consumption and a decrease in the crimerate were two measures of prohibition’s success. Statisticalevidence supported prohibitionist’s thoughts regarding crime andalcohol. Following 1919, when the spread of alcohol controlexpanded to the provinces, crime increased. In 1922, there were15,720 convictions for indictable offences and in 1928, 21,720convictions. This was an increase of 38 per cent and more thanthree times the increase in Canada’s population. From 1922 to1928, the number of criminals who were moderate drinkers rose atthe same rate as the total number of convictions. The number ofcriminals who drank in excess, however, increased by 64 percent, or nearly twice as fast.3 Along with crime, alcohol waslinked to other negative occurrences such as insanity, vice,wife and child abuse, family destruction, poverty, and economicinefficiency. It was believed that money that spent on alcoholshould have been spent on things such as housing and clothing.4Supporters of prohibition claimed it was better for society andthe economy as a whole as well as improving health anddecreasing crime. It should be noted, however, that prohibitionwas not entirely about alcohol and its use. It was a vanguardthrough which society attempted to ‘purify’ itself of all itsevils. If liquor was banned, then the money it used could bespent on other industries, benefiting society as a whole.Unfortunately for prohibitionists, this was not the be the case. Much time and effort were spent by anti-prohibition forces inavoiding and breaking the law.5 Professional smuggling fromCanada turned out to be a big business. For example, in thefirst seven months of 1920, approximately 900,000 cases ofliquor were transported within in Canada to border cities in theUnited States.6′Scientific Temperance’ was another claim prohibitionistsused in their fight to legalize their stance. Arguments of thisgenre sought to persuade listeners with scholarly academics whoadded an air of authority and prestige to the movement. In 1906two German scientists, August Forel and Emil Kalpelin, even wentso fart as to label alcohol poisonous.7 Other scientifictemperance claims included alcohol being responsible for manyaliments such as heart failure, flabby muscles, troublesbreathing, etc. … This aliment list is endless.8 It is nowknown that alcohol in moderation is not a direct cause ofseveral of these claims. Even though many of the allegationsagainst alcohol were on the extreme side, there is some merit toa few of the accusations. Much of this harm linked to alcoholconsumption, however, stems from its abuse father than itssimple use. Alcohol, during the years leading up to and includingprohibition, presented itself to be a convenient scapegoat forsociety’s problems and woes. At a time when society was”stimulated by accelerating technical progress and jolted by theintensifying social problems created by industrialization, manyNorth Americans were convinced of the need and the feasibilityof reform.”9, it is ironic that prohibition is deemedresponsible for the advent of organized crime in Canada.Regardless of the pros and cons of prohibition, it cannot bedenied that the Canadian response to prohibition helped makethis nation among the largest liquor industries in the world,with distilled liquors being the sixth largest of Canadianexports. Temperance in Nova Scotia had a strong tradition datingback to Beaver River, Yarmouth. It was here, in 1828, the firsttemperance society was formed.10 Like the other temperancesocieties that followed, alcohol consumption was forbiddenexcept for medicinal purposes. The influx of Americantemperance societies in the 1850’s affected the Nova Scotiatemperance movement as their aim became a position of totalabstinence.11 An influential Sons of Temperance Society fromthe United States established its local division in Yarmouth in1847. It was not until 1858 that this society opened a divisionin Manitoba.12 Bot