Prohibition Party
| Prohibition Party | |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Toby Davis |
| Founded | 1869 |
| Ideology | Temperance |
| Political position | Fiscal: Conservatism Social: Conservatism |
| Website | |
| prohibitionparty.org prohibitionists.org |
|
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
|
The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It was an integral part of the temperance movement and, while never one of the leading parties in the United States, it was an important force in American politics in the late 19th century and the early years of the 20th century. It has declined dramatically since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, and is now a fraction of its previous size, having earned only 643 votes for president in the 2008 election. It advocates a variety of socially conservative causes, including "stronger and more vigorous enforcement of laws against the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, against gambling, illegal drugs, pornography, and commercialized vice."[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
The Prohibition Party was founded in 1869. Its first National Committee Chairman was John Russell of Michigan.[2] It succeeded in getting communities and also many counties in the states to outlaw the production and sale of intoxicating beverages.
At the same time, its ideology broadened to include aspects of progressivism. The party contributed to the third-party discussions of the 1910s and sent Charles H. Randall to the 64th, 65th and 66th Congresses as the representative of California's 9th congressional district. Prohibitionist Sidney J. Catts was elected Governor of Florida in 1916.
The Prohibition Party's greatest success was in 1919, with the passage of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlawed the production, sale, transportation, import and export of alcohol. The era during which alcohol was illegal in the United States is generally known as "Prohibition".
During the Prohibition era, the Prohibition Party pressed for stricter enforcement of the prohibition laws. During the 1928 election, for example, it considered endorsing Republican Herbert Hoover rather than running its own candidate. However, by a 4-3 vote, its national executive committee voted to nominate their own candidate, William F. Varney, instead. They did this because they felt Hoover's stance on prohibition not strict enough.[3] The Prohibition Party became even more critical of Hoover after he was elected President. By the 1932 election, party chairman David Leigh Colvin thundered that "The Republican wet plank [i.e. supporting the repeal of Prohibition] means that Mr. Hoover is the most conspicuous turncoat since Benedict Arnold."[4] Hoover lost the election, but national prohibition was repealed anyway in 1933, with the 21st Amendment during the progressive Roosevelt administration.
[edit] Decline
The Prohibition Party has faded into obscurity since World War II. When it briefly changed its name to the "National Statesman Party," in 1977 (it would reverse the change in 1980) Time magazine suggested that it was "doubtful" that the name change would "hoist the party out of the category of political oddity."[5]
The Prohibition Party has continued running presidential candidates every four years, but its vote totals have steadily dwindled. It last received more than 100,000 votes for president in 1948, and the 1976 election was the last time the party received more than 10,000 votes for president. In 2008 its presidential nominee received only 643 votes.
[edit] Secession of 2003
The Prohibition Party experienced a schism in 2003, as the party's prior presidential candidate, Earl Dodge, incorporated a rival party called the National Prohibition Party in Colorado. Dodge held a rival nominating convention in his living room in August 2003, attended by eight people, and was nominated as the president of this rival party.[6][7].
In February 2004, Dodge's rivals nominated Gene C. Amondson for President. Neither the Dodge faction nor the Amondson faction recognized the other as legitimate. Amondson filed under the Prohibition banner in Louisiana. Dodge ran under the name of the historic Prohibition Party in Colorado[8], while the Concerns of People Party allowed Amondson to run on its line against Dodge.[9] Amondson received 1,944 votes, nationwide, while Dodge garnered 140.
The death of Dodge in November 2007 left the Dodge faction without a presidential nominee.[10] In the spring of 2008, the Dodge faction nominated Amondson for President, but they retained one of their own, Howard Lydick, as their vice presidential nominee.[11].
In recent years, the two factions have been fighting over payments dedicated to the Prohibition Party by George Pennock in 1930.[12] The fund pays approximately $8000 per year.[13] To avoid litigation, the two separate parties agreed to divide the money, with the Amondson faction getting slightly over 50%.[citation needed]
[edit] Electoral history
The Prohibition Party has nominated a candidate for president in every election since 1872, and is thus the longest-lived American political party after the Democrats and Republicans.
| Prohibition Party National Conventions and Campaigns | ||||||
| Year | No. | Convention Site & City | Dates | Presidential nominee | Vice-Presidential nominee | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1872 | 1st | Comstock's Opera House, Columbus, Ohio | Feb. 22, 1872 | James Black (Pennsylvania) | John Russell (Michigan) | 2,100 |
| 1876 | 2nd | Halle's Hall, Cleveland, Ohio |
May 17, 1876 | Green Clay Smith (Kentucky) | Gideon T. Stewart (Ohio) | 6,743 |
| 1880 | 3rd | Halle's Hall, Cleveland | June 17, 1880 | Neal Dow (Maine) | Henry A. Thompson (Ohio) | 9,674 |
| 1884 | 4th | Lafayette Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
July 23-24, 1884 | John P. St. John (Kansas) | William Daniel (Maryland) | 147,520 |
| 1888 | 5th | Tomlinson Hall, Indianapolis, Indiana |
May 30-31, 1888 | Clinton B. Fisk (New Jersey) | John A. Brooks (Missouri) | 249,813 |
| 1892 | 6th | Music Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio |
June 29-30, 1892 | John Bidwell (California) | James B. Cranfill (Texas) | 270,770 |
| 1896 | 7th | Exposition Hall, Pittsburgh | May 27-28, 1896 | Joshua Levering (Maryland) | Hale Johnson (Illinois) | 125,072 |
| [7th] | Pittsburgh | May 28, 1896 | Charles E. Bentley (Nebraska) | James H. Southgate (N. Car.) | 19,363 | |
| 1900 | 8th | First Regiment Armory, Chicago, Illinois |
June 27-28, 1900 | John G. Woolley (Illinois) | Henry B. Metcalf (Rhode Island) | 209,004 |
| [8th] | Carnegie Lyceum, New York City, New York |
Sept. 5, 1900 | Donelson Caffery (Louisiana) (declined); Edward M. Emerson (Mass.) |
Archibald M. Howe (Massachusetts) | 342 | |
| 1904 | 9th | Tomlinson Hall, Indianapolis | June 29 to July 1, 1904 |
Silas C. Swallow (Pennsylvania) | George W. Carroll (Texas) | 258,596 |
| 1908 | 10th | Memorial Hall, Columbus | July 15-16, 1908 | Eugene W. Chafin (Illinois) | Aaron S. Watkins (Ohio) | 252,821 |
| 1912 | 11th | on a large temporary pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
July 10-12, 1912 | Eugene W. Chafin (Illinois) | Aaron S. Watkins (Ohio) | 207,972 |
| 1916 | 12th | St. Paul, Minnesota | July 19-21, 1916 | J. Frank Hanly (Indiana) | Ira Landrith (Tennessee) | 221,030 |
| 1920 | 13th | Lincoln, Nebraska | July 21-22, 1920 | Aaron Watkins (Ohio) | D. Leigh Colvin (New York) | 188,685 |
| 1924 | 14th | Memorial Hall, Columbus | June 4-6, 1924 | Herman P. Faris (Missouri) | Marie C. Brehm (California) | 54,833 |
| 1928 | 15th | Hotel LaSalle, Chicago | July 10-12, 1928 | William F. Varney (New York) | James A. Edgerton | 20,095 |
| [15th] | [California ticket] | Herbert Hoover (California) | Charles Curtis (Kansas) | 14,394 | ||
| 1932 | 16th | Candle Tabernacle, Indianapolis |
July 5-7, 1932 | William D. Upshaw (Georgia) | Frank S. Regan (Illinois) | 81,916 |
| 1936 | 17th | State Armory Building, Niagara Falls, New York |
May 5-7, 1936 | D. Leigh Colvin (New York) | Alvin York (Tenn.) (declined); Claude A. Watson (California) |
37,668 |
| 1940 | 18th | Chicago | May 8-10, 1940 | Roger W. Babson (Mass.) | Edgar V. Moorman (Illinois) | 58,743 |
| 1944 | 19th | Indianapolis | Nov. 10-12, 1943 | Claude A. Watson (California) | Floyd C. Carrier (Maryland) (withdrew); Andrew Johnson (Kentucky) |
74,735 |
| 1948 | 20th | Winona Lake, Indiana | June 26-28, 1947 | Claude A. Watson (California) | Dale H. Learn (Pennsylvania) | 103,489 |
| 1952 | 21st | Indianapolis | Nov. 13-15, 1951 | Stuart Hamblen (California) | Enoch A. Holtwick (Illinois) | 73,413 |
| 1956 | 22nd | Camp Mack, Milford, Indiana |
Sept. 4-6, 1955 | Enoch A. Holtwick (Illinois) | Herbert C. Holdridge (California) (withdrew); Edwin M. Cooper (California) |
41,937 |
| 1960 | 23rd | Westminster Hotel, Winona Lake |
Sept. 1-3, 1959 | Rutherford Decker (Missouri) | E. Harold Munn (Michigan) | 46,193 |
| 1964 | 24th | Pick Congress Hotel, Chicago |
August 26-27, 1963 | E. Harold Munn (Michigan) | Mark R. Shaw (Massachusetts) | 23,266 |
| 1968 | 25th | YWCA, Detroit, Mich. | June 28-29, 1968 | E. Harold Munn (Michigan) | Rolland E. Fisher (Kansas) | 14,915 |
| 1972 | 26th | Nazarene Church Building, Wichita, Kansas |
June 24-25, 1971 | E. Harold Munn (Michigan) | Marshall E. Uncapher (Kansas) | 12,818 |
| 1976 | 27th | Beth Eden Baptist Church Bldg, Wheat Ridge, Colo. | June 26-27,1975 | Benjamin C. Bubar (Maine) | Earl F. Dodge (Colorado) | 15,934 |
| 1980 | 28th | Motel Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama |
June 20-21, 1979 | Benjamin C. Bubar (Maine) | Earl F. Dodge (Colorado) | 7,212 |
| 1984 | 29th | Mandan, North Dakota | June 22-24, 1983 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | Warren C. Martin (Kansas) | 4,242 |
| 1988 | 30th | Heritage House, Springfield, Illinois |
June 25-26, 1987 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | George Ormsby (Pennsylvania) | 8,002 |
| 1992 | 31st | Minneapolis, Minnesota | June 24-26, 1991 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | George Ormsby (Pennsylvania) | 935 |
| 1996 | 32md | Denver, Colorado | 1995 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | Rachel Bubar Kelly | 1,298 |
| 2000 | 33rd | Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania | June 28-30, 1999 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | W. Dean Watkins (Arizona) | 208 |
| 2004 | 34th | Fairfield Glade, Tennessee | February 1, 2004 | Gene Amondson (Washington) | Leroy Pletten (Michigan) | 1,944 |
| [34th] | Lakewood, Colorado | August 2003 | Earl Dodge (Colorado) | Howard Lydick (Texas) | 140 | |
| 2008 | 35th | Adams Mark Hotel, Indianapolis |
Sept. 13-14, 2007 | Gene Amondson (Washington) | Leroy Pletten (Michigan) | 643 |
[edit] Elected officials
- Governor of Florida Sidney Johnston Catts: 1917
- U.S. Representative from California's 9th congressional district Charles Hiram Randall:
- Argonia, Kansas Mayor Susanna M. Salter: 1887 (the first woman mayor in the United States)
- Thompson Township, Pennsylvania, Tax Assessor Jim Hedges: 2002-present[14] (first and only known office-holder of the 21st century)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.prohibitionists.org/Background/Party_Platform/party_platform.html
- ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/ContainerHistory.html?ContainerID=57786
- ^ "National Affairs: Men of Principle". Time. 1928-09-10. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,927759,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ "National Affairs: In Cadle Tabernacle". Time. 1932-07-18. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,753371,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ "Americana: Time to Toast the Party?". Time. 1977-11-07. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947954,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
- ^ Creative Loafing Charlotte | News | News feature | Beyond Bush, Kerry & Nader
- ^ The National Prohibitionist, 6/2003, p. 1
- ^ Our Campaigns - CO US President Race - Nov 02, 2004
- ^ The National Prohibitionist, 11/2004, p. 1.
- ^ http://www.ballot-access.org/2007/11/08/earl-f-dodge-dies/
- ^ Our Campaigns - News - Former Dodge Faction Endorses Gene Amondson - Feb 29, 2008
- ^ http://www.ballot-access.org/2007/01/15/internal-prohibition-party-battle-has-court-hearing-on-january-16/
- ^ http://www.ballot-access.org/2006/030106.html
- ^ Candidates
[edit] Further reading
- James T. Havel, U.S. Presidential Candidates and the Elections (NYC: MacMillan Library Reference, 1996)
- S.B. Hinshaw, Ohio Elects the President: Our State's Role in Presidential Elections (Mansfield OH: Bookmasters, 1999)
[edit] External links
- Prohibition Party website
- Prohibition Partisan Historical Society website
- Partisan prophets; a history of the Prohibition Party, 1854-1972, Roger C. Storms
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