Prohibition and the Oil Lobby

George here: the National Fork Blog recently ran a story that is truly eye opening. I don’t agree with the entire premise of the piece as it related to the influence of the Church being limited. But the fact was that our freedom to make beer and moonshine was taken away and the beneficiaries to this day will surprise you. From the piece:

Alcoholic beverages, health properties notwithstanding, always have been near and dear to the hearts of Americans.  Colonial era towns had their taverns.  Our founding fathers like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington had refined tastes for all types of beers, wines, and liquors and brewed them at home.  Western towns had their saloons.  Simply put, beer, wine, whiskey, and the like have a well-established and traditional place in American culture and cuisine.

The period of time in American history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the era of Prohibition–the outlaw of the manufacture and sale of all alcoholic beverages.  The political rhetoric of the time and the standard version of history make it appear that the cause of Prohibition was the political influence of the evangelical Protestant churches and a desire to reduce the social harms of alcohol abuse.

George here: The Author goes on to make the argument that the long held position giving blame to the Church along with the women’s movement for that debacle has been totally wrong all along. I partially disagree, but that is not the most important point he makes on the article. The writter goes on to make some excellent revelations. To me it really makes no difference who was at fault, but the fact that the oil industry had so much to gain makes you wonder. Back to the piece:

Automobiles were invented around 1900.  The period of Prohibition coincided roughly with the huge rise in the popular demand for automobiles–and their fuel.  Automobiles of the time could be fueled by either petroleum, or alcohol.  In fact, Henry Ford’s Model T had a carburetor that allowed the driver to switch between burning petroleum or ethyl alcohol, which was often manufactured and sold on farms.  Because gas stations were rare, such a feature allowed drivers the ability to refuel at farms during long drives.

Petroleum companies promoted the Prohibition movement in order to eliminate this competition from alcohol producers in the growing market for automobile fuel.  Unlike religious groups, petroleum companies like Standard Oil led by oil and banking magnate John D. Rockefeller, had the necessary financial power to accomplish this goal.  By directly lobbying lawmakers, providing enormous financial contributions to religious groups already active in the Prohibition movement, and otherwise acting to further Prohibition, the oil industry was able to cause the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which put the kibosh on the manufacture and sale of all alcohol in the United States.

And it didn’t hurt the movement that America was governed by a group of lawmakers and regulators that, by and large, were (and still are) for sale to the highest bidder.

Although Prohibition ended in 1933 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, alcohol manufacturing and sale continues to this day to be heavily regulated at the local, state, and federal levels.  It is very likely that the continued restriction of alcohol manufacturing and sale, contrary to rhetoric, is really intended to minimize the freedom of individuals to manufacture automobile fuel from alcohol.

All this makes one wonder.  If large industry influenced our government to squelch a basic individual liberty like making one’s own beer, wine, or whiskey, what other laws has industry influenced purely for its own gain and at the expense of individual freedom?

By National Fork. You can read the entire article here. Patrick is an attorney practicing in the area of family law and general civil litigation. I have acquired a strong interest in the interaction between corporate influence, government, the media, and the lives of individuals within the sphere of these influences.