In November 1916, Montanans voted to enact laws prohibiting the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. These laws took effect on December 31, 1918, two years before the passage of the 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of liquor nationwide. "The Noble Experiment,” as Prohibition was known was a result of a decades-long temperance movement and remained in effect until 1933. Prohibition changed Montana communities in ways no one expected--bringing conflict and a form of law-breaking compromise. Who led the fight for Prohibition and why? What were the consequences of the stand that they took?  What lessons do you see from the conflicts that brewed during before and during Prohibition?

Secondary Sources

Wilson, Gary, Honky-Tonk Town:  Havre’s Bootlegging Days, Montana Magazine, Helena, MT, 1985.

Malone, Michael P., and Dianne G. Dougherty,  “Montana’s Political Culture: A Century of Evolution," Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Autumn, 1979) pp. 30-

Myers, Rex C. “The Montana Club: Symbol of Elegance,” Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 31,  No. 1, (Winter, 1981), pp. 44-58.

Murphy, Mary, “Bootlegging Mothers and Drinking Daughters: Gender and Prohibition in Butte, Montana," American Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 2, (June, 1994), pp. 174-94.

Sweetman, Alice, “Mondak: Planned City of Hope Astride the Montana-Dakota Border,” Montana The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 15, No. 4, (Autumn, 1965), pp. 12-27.

Primary Sources at the Montana Historical Society

Corporate Author, Montana Commercial and Labor League, Keep Montana Prosperous: What Will State Wide Prohibition Cost You? The League, 1916.  (PAM 3180)

Hoag, Alice Barnes, Historical Sketch of the Montana Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, State, Helena, MT, 1912. (PAM 787)

Muffly, Charles S., Why Are They Doing This?  The Author, Helena, MT, 1917.  (PAM 2604).

Kessler Family Papers, MC 161 

Corporate Author: Montana Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Montana Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Annual Session, Montana WCTU, 1888-1890.

Montana Woman’s Christian Temperance Union Records, MC 160. 

Primary and Secondary Sources on the Internet

Ohio State University, Temperance and Prohibition, http://prohibition.osu.edu/

1920-30.com, Prohibition in the United States: http://www.1920-30.com/prohibition/

Also see Prohibition Resources from menu.

Suite101.com, Prohibition in the 1920s: http://americanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/prohibition_in_the_1920s

Vertical Files at the Montana Historical Society

 “Prohibition,” Vertical File, Montana Historical Society Research Center.