There have been two organizations called the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers. I. The First A group of highly influential lawyers formed the first Voluntary Committee of Lawyers (VCL) in 1927. Its goal was to promote Repeal of National Prohibition (1920-1933). Joseph H. Choate, Jr. headed the group. Its corporate charter stated three things. The Eighteenth Amendment …
Pauline Morton Sabin founded the Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR). The year was 1929. She had earlier been a staunch supporter of National Prohibition (1920-1933). But over time she came to realize that the social experiment was ineffective. She also saw that was causing many very serious problems. In short, it was worse …
M. Louise Gross founded and headed the Women’s Moderation Union. This helped belie the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union‘s (WCTU) insistence that it spoke for American women. The president of the WCTU had shouted before Congress that she spoke for all American women. That was in an effort to enhance her political power. Gross decided that …
The Woman’s National Committee for Law Enforcement (WNCLE) was a federation of Protestant women’s groups. It formed in 1922 to promote more vigorous enforcement of Prohibition laws. Organized at both the national and state levels, it claimed membership of twelve million women by 1932. Note that it is often spelled the Women’s National Committee for …
Prominent Republican “wets” (supporters of Repeal) formed the Republican Citizens Committee Against National Prohibition. It was in December of 1931. Founders included Henry B. Joy, Lammot Du Pont II, Joseph H. Choate, Jr., Raymond Pitcairn, Thomas W. Phillips, and Robert Cassaft. Goal They formed it before the 1932 Republican National Convention. The goal was to …
Discover the Prohibition and Repeal experiences of various States. Some were strongholds of temperance sentiment. Others were bastions of opposition. And of course, there were great variations among others So different states responded in different ways. Alabama The state came to reject Prohibition by a vote of nearly 60% in favor of Repeal. Yet much temperance …
Business leader Fred G. Clark founded The Crusaders in 1929. National Prohibition (1920-1933) was causing many very serious problems. They included bootlegging, gangerstism, and rampant violence. Fred Clark was appalled at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. Rivalry among competing bootlegging gangsters led to that horrible massacre. The group didn’t work at the national …
The American Federation of Labor (AF of L). It formed Labor’s National Committee for the Modification of the Volstead Act (LNCMVA). That was in January of 1931. The Volstead Act was the law that implemented the 18th Amendment that established National Prohibition (1920-1933). Matthew Woll Matthew Woll co-founded and then headed the LNCMVA. He testified …
Joseph H. Choate, Jr. chaired the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers (VCL). VCL was a group of leading attorneys formed in 1927. It promoted the repeal of National Prohibition (1920-1933). With its urging, the American Bar Association called for Repeal in 1928. Choate and the VCL worked closely with other repeal organizations. They included the powerful …
James W. Wadsworth, Jr. (1877-1952) was a leader in the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. New York voters elected him to the State Assembly in 1904. He became Speaker of the Assembly in 1905, serving until 1910. Wadsworth briefly managing his family’s ranch in Texas. Then he was head of the New York state delegation …
