American History Too!

On January 20th 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - which banned the production, transport, and sale of alcohol - went into effect. Among the many Americans rejoicing at the passage of Prohibition that evening, was one Pauline Sabin.  Sabin, a wealthy WASP socialite, who was New York’s first ever female member of the Republican National Committee, foresaw many positives to an alcohol-free society. Like many American women, Sabin viewed alcohol as a threat to the morality of her family, particularly her two young sons, and, in her own words, Sabin believed that “a world without liquor would be a beautiful world.” Quickly, however, Sabin and many others realised that such utopian hopes were misplaced. Prohibition, it seemed was creating more problems than it solved. Looking around at the increased crime and disrespect for law and order in the country, Sabin came to the conclusion that Prohibition was actually creating a worse world for her sons as opposed to the beautiful world she