Courtesy of Henry Gartley, an individual partner
Description
The Women's Christian Temperance Union filled the length of Columbia street in Bangor to protest the use of alcohol on September 15, 1909. They carried signs proclaiming, "Bread is better than Beer", “The Only Good Saloon is no Saloon”, and “Maine Leads, the Nation is Following" The banner above the arch told of the ongoing W.C.T.U.'s state convention.
Maine was considered the home of prohibition. In 1846 Maine passed the first laws in the country outlawing the sale of alcohol. The enforcement was difficult and waned at times. Around the time of this photograph many establishments that sold alcohol paid fines to the court system in return for law enforcement to look the other way, this was known as the "Bangor Plan".
Maine’s prohibition laws were repealed in 1934, one year after the end of national prohibition.
About This Item
- Title: Temperance march in Bangor, 1909
- Creation Date: 1909-09-15
- Subject Date: 1909-09-15
- Location: Bangor, Penobscot County, ME
- Media: Photographic print
- Dimensions: 8.9 cm x 14 cm
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
Other Keywords
- Alcohol
- alcoholism
- beer
- bootlegging
- drinking
- liquor
- procession
- prohibition
- protest
- rebellion
- rioting
- social movement
- social unrest
- speak easy
- uprising
- W.C.T.U.
- WCTU
The copyright status is unknown to the contributing organization.
More to Consider
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148-150 Free Street, Portland, 1924
Item 99374
Sons of Temperance certificate, Leeds, 1847
Item 108961
Women's Christian Temperance Union auto parade, Portland, 1910
Exhibit
Prohibition in Maine in the 1920s
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