theses are bleah

so i finally have close to a final abstract/thesis. i keep changing my mind. go figure. i don't have much time left to keep changing my mind. anyway, to bore you out of your mind, here it is for your reading pleasure.

The church opposed excessive alcohol consumption and attempted to limit the production and selling of the substance because churches “found liquor sinful on many counts: it undermined men’s ability to behave rationally, it caused them to waste money and to deprive their families, and it produced drunkenness and violence.”[i] Initially viewed as a domestic issue, Temperance was mostly supported by the church and religious organizations led by a majority of women. Not until the late nineteenth century did men take over the campaign to create a liquor-free nation. The creation of the Anti-Liquor League in 1893[ii] shifted the focus of prohibition from a social and religious forum to a socio-political platform. The Anti-Liquor League was a male led organization composed of members across denominations and mainly focused on electing politicians that were sympathetic to their cause.[iii]

The struggle for a dry Alabama began in 1904 when the Anti-Liquor League took control of the prohibition movement.[iv] The city of Birmingham, industrialized with steel mills and distilleries, fought hard against the prohibition laws of 1907, citing economic instability. Ninety-seven saloons lined the streets of Birmingham in 1907 and nearly half, forty-five, of those were located on First Avenue and Second Avenue alone. The enactment of Jefferson County’s prohibition laws forced the Birmingham saloon owners to adapt. From 1907 to 1918, as prohibition volleyed back and forth, Birmingham’s saloons opened and closed in accordance with the laws. The demographics of Birmingham changed as proprietors of saloons decided to either ride out the storm or reopen in a new venue.

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[i] Carl V. Harris, Political Power in Birmingham, 1871-1921 (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee, 1977), 189.

[ii] Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem, Vol. 1. s.v. “Anti-Saloon League.” 175-187.

[iii] For more information on the Prohibition in Birmingham see: Mary Martha Thomas, The New Woman in Alabama: Social Reforms and Suffrage, 1890-1920 (Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1992). and George M. Hammell, ed., The Passing of the Saloon: An Authentic and Official Presentation of the Anti-Liquor Crusade in America (Cincinnati: The Towers Press, 1908).

[iv] George M. Hammell, ed. The Passing of the Saloon. 211.

and then there's the outline:

I. Introduction

a. politics

b. saloons

c. society

II. Politics

a. The prohibition laws and when they went into effect.

b. Who was in office during the passing of each law?

c. Who supported prohibition and who opposed?

i. What roles did the mills/company owners play in the fight for prohibition

ii. What roles did the newspapers and petitions play in convincing the population

III. Saloons

a. How long did the average saloon owner on First and Second Avenue own a saloon?

b. Did they stick around after the first dry law? The second? The final?

c. What did the saloon owners that stayed in Birmingham do after prohibition?

i. How many former saloon owners stayed?

ii. Did any saloon owners try to pick up the business again when the prohibition laws lifted?

d. What was the attitude toward African-Americans and the ownership of saloons?

i. How many saloons were owned by African-Americans in 1908? 1913?

ii. What were the limitations and restrictions placed upon their establishments?

iii. Where were most of the African-American owned saloons located?

IV. Society

a. Did the labor pool change at all when prohibition went into effect? More or less people entering (or leaving) Birmingham?

b. Did crime really decrease with the introduction of prohibition?

i. How prevalent were “blind tigers?”

V. Conclusion

are you excited now?