Worshipping Bacchus: Prohibition in Savannah, 1899-1922

Abstract

‘Worshipping Bacchus: Prohibition in Savannah, 1899-1922’ examines the failure of prohibition at the local level. Savannah’s citizens determined to quench their thirst in defiance of state and subsequently national law. In the process, they received unofficial sanction of the local government, whose leaders refused to criminalize the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Prohibitionists could not use their significant organizational ability and lobbying to compel enforcement. Their efforts demonstrated not only the weakness of the state executive but more importantly the real power held by local governments.