CHAPTER 1

White Women Give Birthto Prohibition

Woman conceives, nurtures, and gives birth to newlife. Her ability to manifest fresh, new life is one of thenatural, phenomenal powers reserved for her. Shehas the ability to easily give birth to flesh or spiritualconcepts; both require conception, nurturing, anddelivery. Although it is a time-consuming process,women seem to do it naturally. Giving birth permitsthem to take ownership of the process, as if it's theirprivate right just because they're women.

Some call it wisdom; others call it mother wit, orwomen's intuition. Whatever it's called, it doesn'tmatter. As a young girl, when I would delicatelyquestion my mother's or grandmother's judgment ofan issue, they had a standard answer: "Because Isaid so." That was it, end of conversation. "Because Isaid so" had an authoritative ring to it. That answerwas the only and last word to resolve the issue.My mother said she knew what she knew, and shedid not have to qualify it any further. She was alsousually right.

They Got Pregnant

Somewhere around the late 1800s, far too manywomen suffered from what is presently called domesticviolence. They had little legal recourse or protectionback then. Being on the losing end of the weekenddrunken brawls with their husbands regardingpaychecks spent in saloons became intolerable.Oftentimes, fights and beatings of women and theirchildren in poor or working-class white families becamea common script that was no longer bearable.

Women became impregnated with an idea. Like fallingrain, the pregnant notion of power peppered thespirits of women across the country. This awakeneda group of women, and their sympathizers found acommon cord that connected many of their salientissues into a simplistic concept: no more domesticviolence and economic dependency. Essentially, whitewomen demanded to have power over the quality oftheir lives.

The power of the idea struck with clarity and heldsalvation in its reins. The alcohol and saloonswere the initial culprits. The women identifiedthe enemy. These women wanted the saloons tostop selling alcohol and to close down. It seemedperfectly logical to them that in turn, theirhusbands would stop drinking and squanderingtheir wages. Almost all women wanted sober andresponsible husbands, fathers, and brothers. As agroup they were convinced they had the solution totheir domestic violence issue. They were willing tonurture and deliver this ideal across the countryand see the laws change, even if it meant changingthe Constitution.

They conceived a fresh, new lifestyle for themselvesand were willing to do whatever was necessary toget the laws changed. To the best of their limitedknowledge of the real world, these women honestlythought their social and domestic issues were causedprimarily by the excessive drinking of alcohol insaloons. But how were these women to know theseverity of the far-reaching and negative, complexramifications and mayhem that their new idea wouldunleash in America?

With absolute resolve and newly discovered self-confidencein their mission to fight saloons andalcohol, this initially small group of religious whitewomen forged ahead with fury. They knew they wereright. Who could challenge their collective voice ofthe "Because I said so" mentality of righteousness?

However, tampering with the governing laws of theland to satisfy a growing multitude of well-intentionedwomen proved to be more than anyone couldanticipate. Unknown to these community-mindedwomen, who were ideologically pregnant with a loftydream that was in reality a maniacal, monstrousembryo, the new brainchild would eventually bringforth to the American scene a live concept of suchmagnitude that the birthmothers would be powerlessto harness it. The intuitive mother wit did not givethem a clue that they had conceived a King Kong inHillsboro, Ohio, 1873. They were sure of one thing:their ideological baby's name would be Prohibition.

Carrying Dreams to Full Term

Their new baby, Prohibition, was absolutelyincompatible with America's Constitution. Thedocument was written by all white men and forall white men, to keep democracy stable for theirbest interests. Historically, race and gender werein ideological conflict in the original democraticstructure of America's Constitution, and thereforethe document provided settings for ensuing battles.White men gave themselves unquestioned power—everybodyelse was invisible. Nonetheless, theirwomen remained true to their intuitive format, andthey relentlessly kept pushing forward to deliver thepassionate embryo that burned in their bellies. Thewomen would tackle the men and their constitutionhead-on.

On the other hand, during the same time frame of thelate 1800s, black women knew they needed to takeaction to create a better life for their families. Thesalient issues of domestic violence and intoxicatedhusbands that ignited hot political reactions ofwhite women were of no interest to black people inAmerica. White women wanted sober husbands andclosed saloons; black women wanted the right toget married and have a husband—and for him tonot be lynched by a band of white cowards hidingunder white sheets. Each was seeking changes inthe Constitution. Each woman wanted power fromthe white man to gain parity for the improvement oftheir particular living conditions. Each lived as farapart as imaginable, but within clear...