More from the "Famous Five and their achievements":
PROHIBITIONProhibition came into effect in Alberta on July 1, 1916 as a result of a plebiscite, making Alberta the first province to enact prohibition. It ended in 1923, also as a result of a plebiscite, thus, the long struggle by temperance groups resulted in a disappointingly short-lived victory.
The issue of liquor control dates to the mid 1800's. By the 1860's and '70's, whiskey trading was destroying Native communities, as well as threatening settlement of the west. Thus, controlling liquor was one of the major purposes for which the Canadian Government formed the Northwest Mounted Police in1873. The first legislation aimed at controlling liquor in the Northwest Territories (of which Alberta was a part until 1905) was included in the Northwest Territories Act of 1875, but it had very little effect. In 1907, shortly after Alberta became a province, a new act controlling the sale of liquor was established, but it too fell short of the total prohibition that anti-liquor groups hoped for.
As early as 1891, liquor control was a major election issue in the Northwest Territories. Prohibition campaigns by women's groups, like the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and the United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA) gathered momentum and increasing political influence during the early twentieth century. In fact, prohibition was one of the major planks in the woman suffrage campaign. Women like Louise McKinney—Superintendent of the Alberta WCTU's Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction (STI), and President of Alberta's WCTU—and Irene Parlby—first President of the United Farm Women's Association—played a significant role in achieving Prohibition in Alberta.
Indeed, it may be argued that in 1917, the first year that women were allowed both to run for political office and to vote in Alberta, Louise McKinney made history as the first woman legislator to be elected in the British Empire largely as a result of her many years of campaigning for prohibition. The Prohibition and Suffrage movements had worked hand in hand, as female suffrage was viewed as necessary for the achievement of Prohibition. Because many of the same people supported both causes, it was only natural that Louise McKinney should earn their vote.
As early as 1904, Calgary MLA R.B. Bennett (future Prime Minister of Canada) realized how valuable the endorsement of prohibitionist women's groups could be. He promised support for WCTU goals, and received an endorsement from them in return. The political influence of the WCTU and the UFWA continued to grow, and their support became increasingly important for politicians in Alberta.
Of course, not everyone supported prohibition.
PROHIBITION: ANTI-PROHIBITION BACKLASH"From the crusade of a despised minority, a mark for good-natured ridicule rather than fear, the prohibition movement became a vast continental propaganda, backed by unlimited money, engineered by organized hypocrisy. Under the stress of war it masqueraded as the crowning effort of patriotism. The war over, it sits enthroned as a social tyranny, backed by the full force of the law, the like of which has not been seen in English-speaking countries since the fires died out at Smithfield."—Stephen Leacock
Not everyone was a fan of Prohibition, but by 1919 all nine Canadian provinces had voted themselves dry, and had enacted legislation to enforce Prohibition. The Federal Government had also prohibited all import and transportation of intoxicating liquor by a Federal Order in Council under the War Measures Act. This outraged a certain segment of the population—among whom was Stephen Leacock. As with his views on the feminist movement (see Anti-Feminist Atmosphere), his views on prohibition were exactly opposite those espoused by the Famous 5.
In his 1919 essay entitled "The Tyranny of Prohibition"— written as a tract warning the people of England against the evils of enacting Prohibition—Leacock paints an unflattering view of Prohibitionists, and the motives underlying their activism. In it, he characterizes the the "drys" (prohibitionists) and the "wets" (anti-prohibitionists), and it is easy to see where his sympathies lie.
Among the "drys," he identifies several types:
* The "deeply religious, patriotic, and estimable people" who sincerely believe that enacting prohibition is "God's work"
* Those who "desire to tyrannize and compel—to force the souls of other men to compliance with the narrow rigor of their own"
* "Salaried enthusiasts, paid informers, the politicians seeking for votes"
* "Ministers of the Gospel currying favor with the dominant section of their congregation"
* "Business men and proprietors of newspapers whose profit lies in the hands of the prohibitionists to make or mar"
* "The whole cohort of drunkards who can be relied upon to poll a vote in favor of prohibition in a mood of sentimental remorse"
In comparison, he portrays the "wets" as:
* Scholarly, industrious men on faculty at the university
* Many of Montreal's leading lawyers and doctors
* Painters, artists, and literary men
* Some members of the clergy "in days more cheerful than the present"
Leacock blamed war-time idealism for the success of prohibition. In the atmosphere of national solidarity, individual self-sacrifice, and moral reform that pervaded society during World War I ( 1914-1918 ), prohibition seemed to be a natural fit. He also blamed opportunistic politicians, who, recognizing the power wielded by women's groups, viewed prohibition as a means of getting the women's vote.
Though Leacock hated Prohibition, in his clear-eyed cynicism, he realized something that the Nellie McClungs and Louise McKinneys and Irene Parlbys of the prohibition movement did not:, prohibition was doomed to fail.
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If you want to know more about the achievements of the Famous Five, go to...
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/famous5/achievements/prohibition.htmlI hope this posting and the last posting will be helpful in learning about all the positive things the Famous Five have done for Canadians, and hopefully the new $50 bill will be enjoyable by many Canadians.
Later, Jonathan
