Led by Pabst of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Annheuser Busch of St. Louis, Missouri, these so-called "shipping brewers" sought to expand their markets. There were even smaller brewing companies, like Hoster of Columbus, Ohio, that shipped beer across the country. The aggressiveness of brewers trying to expand their retail sales through saloons meant that intense competition sometimes ensued. (Brewing 1) The number of saloons went up so fast it was out of control. It was normal for a town to have a saloon for every 150 or 200 persons. The typical saloon was not an attractive place. They were just the bottom floors of buildings or sometimes in the basement. They were not kept up very well. Saloons most of the time were not clean. They were also a place where less fortunate uneducated men would go hang out in after work. Bar fights were big problems. Most Saloon keepers had a hard time making a profit. Saloon keepers got customers to drink more alcohol by providing salty foods for free. Saloon keepers tried to get new customers, including young men, into their establishments. They began to host side business ventures to scrape together enough money to support themselves. Gambling, cock-fighting, and prostitution were three big things that took place in saloons. It was no surprise that a new prohibition organization formed. They called themselves the Anti-Saloon League. This nomenclature was not new, but the new Anti-Saloon League promised to bring business-like methods to political and reform work. The League used the widespread dislike of the saloon among the Americans who acted responsible to fuel prohibition.
Eventually, the Anti-Saloon League, working with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and other dry groups accomplished what they had set out for in establishing prohibition in the American constitution. Prohibition now was part of American life during the early twentieth century.
The 1920's are often described as the decade of contrast and conflicts. It was a decade that some would say was the worst decade in American history. The 18th amendment to the constitution was passed by congress in 1917. It was ratified by three fourths of the states by 1919. This amendment prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages within the boundaries of the United States of America. ...