The prohibition movement in California, 1848-1933
Gilman M. Ostrander (Author)
Temperance sentiment had long been strong in the state. California had elected the only Prohibition Party member of Congress. It had also given the Prohibition Party's presidential candidate Robert P. Shuler the largest popular vote in history. Californians widely believed that National Prohibition would improve health, increase safety, and reduce crime. That it would improve the economy, raise public morality, and reduce violence. Prohibition (1920-1933) didn't eliminate drinking. Far from it. The Anti-Saloon ranked San Francisco second only to New York as the wettest city in the country. The New York Times commissioned surveys in Los Angeles County. It reported that Prohibition had not reduced the quantity but only the quality of alcohol consumed. And arrests for drunkenness climbed steadily during Prohibition
Print Book, English, 1957
University of California Press, Berkeley [Calif.], 1957