The Rise and Fall of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1852--1934

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2012 Vending Vice: The Rise and Fall of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1852--1934 Michael J. Buseman West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Buseman, Michael J., "Vending Vice: The Rise and Fall of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1852--1934" (2012). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 324. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/324 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Vending Vice: The Rise and Fall of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1852-1934 Michael J. Buseman Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D., Chair Paul Rakes, Ph.D. Ken Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Jack Hammersmith, Ph.D. Ronald Lewis, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2012 Keywords: prohibition, temperance, West Virginia, Wheeling, industrialization, Anti-Saloon League Copyright 2012 Michael J. Buseman Abstract Vending Vice: The Rise and Fall of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1852-1934 Michael J. Buseman West Virginia imposed state prohibition on its citizens on July 1, 1914. While the transition to a dry society was relatively quiet in the days leading up to July 1, this tranquility belied the sixty-year battle waged between Mountain State “wets” and “drys” over liquor proscription. Beginning in the 1850s among evangelical Protestants, the anti-liquor movement pushed for different levels of alcohol proscription. By the 1880s, drys were pushing for a state prohibitory amendment to the West Virginia Constitution. The legislative efforts of these pre- progressive agitators failed on multiple occasions. This political disappointment peaked with the statewide rejection of a prohibition referendum in 1888. In short, while teetotalers were able to secure local and county-level prohibition via ordinances and commission elections and chip away at the saloon trade through incremental adjustments to state liquor law, West Virginia was not yet ready to climb aboard the water wagon. Around the turn of the twentieth century, Mountain State drys had activated a more sophisticated and well-funded propaganda campaign. The key to this development was the founding of the West Virginia Anti-Saloon League. Better organization was not enough, however, to explain why West Virginians would eventually authorize state liquor proscription in 1912. The Mountain State also experienced a rapid form of industrialization that changed its socioeconomic and political environment. These changes enhanced a philosophical shift from a laissez-faire, Gilded Age sensibility defined by intense political and social localism to an outlook more closely aligned with Progressive-era activism. In other words, before the turn of the twentieth century, West Virginians accepted localized liquor proscription, but tended to avoid more bureaucratic or statewide anti-alcohol fixes. Once industrialization hit and progressivism seeped in, however, Mountain State residents were more likely to accept the idea of imposing their beliefs on their neighbors. In 1912, West Virginia voters overwhelmingly authorized a constitution amendment providing for statewide prohibition. Unfortunately for drys, in spite of their best efforts at closing off loopholes and plugging the dam, the Mountain State was never as dry as the Yost Law dictated. Bureaucratic inefficiency, corruption, and widespread illicit distilling delegitimized the law in the eyes of many West Virginians. By the time progressivism waned and America entered the Great Depression, most Americans – Mountain State citizens included – wanted state and federal prohibition to go away. West Virginians repealed national prohibition in 1933 and the Yost Law in 1934. The rise and fall of prohibition in West Virginia lends valuable insight and complexity to many of the Mountain State’s post-bellum social, economic, and political struggles. “Vending Vice” is the story of the temporary victory of northern industrialization and centralized bureaucracy over southern Bourbon Democracy and localism. This tension existed in numerous states during the industrial period, but it was especially noticeable in West Virginia. It is also the story of socioeconomic change and upheaval, and the defensive imposition of middle-class, Protestant values over an increasingly diverse population. In the end, though, it is the story of the breakdown of the progressive impulse after World War I, the collapse of the post-war economy, and the gradual acceptance by most West Virginians – and their government – that liquor can be more than simply a social evil. For James, John Paul, MeMe, Mother, and Dr. Fones-Wolf. This didn’t happen without you. iv Acknowledgements A project of this size and scope never has one creator. I would like to thank anyone and everyone who believed in me, pushed me, reassured me, or listened to me. I would first like to thank my entire dissertation committee. Committee members Dr. Ron Lewis, Dr. Ken Fones- Wolf, Dr. Paul Rakes, and Dr. Jack Hammersmith focused my analysis, edited my mistakes, and forced me to think about placing “Vending Vice” in a larger (and better) context. I especially want to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Liz Fones-Wolf. Quite simply, this would not have happened without your patience, sincerity, and kindness. I would like to thank the rest of the faculty in the WVU Department of History. Dr. Katharine Aaslestad, Dr. Matt Vester, Dr. Mark Tauger, and Dr. Robert Maxon always held me to a high standard in their classes. I would like to say thanks to Martha and Becky in the Department of History office. The whole department would come crashing down without you. I would like to express my gratitude to the friends and colleagues I have made and met over the past few years. Chuck Keeney, Jim DePalma, Jeff Leatherwood, Mark Myers, Melinda Hicks Charles Dusch, Jason Roberts, Ken Deitreich, Mehmet Tupeyert, Gene Van Sickle, and Jinny Turman-Deal were always willing to listen (and to put up with my bombastic opinions). I would like to thank the staff at the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at WVU. The entire staff was always friendly, helpful, and willing to listen to my research updates, even when they were boring. Also, I’d like to express my gratitude to Beth Weinhardt at the ASL Collection at the Westerville Public Library. I appreciate you mining your sources, making sure it was worth the trip to Ohio, and being so friendly once I got there. I also want to thank Dr. Dan Long. Your advice and patient ear helped get me back on track. v I would like to express my appreciation to my friends and family. James Bostic, John Paul Hill, and Bob Lasnik got me through this by listening to my litany of complaints, concerns, and crises. James, you were always there with a kind word and well-received distraction during our phone calls about Clemson and Miami football. John Paul, thanks for keeping me sane, reading my drafts, and listening to me drone on about the dissertation when you just got done with yours. Your patience and insight kept me working. Bob, you have stood by me through thick and thin. Our political conversations were a welcome relief from the drudgery of research and writing. I would like to thank my grandmother for being there when I really needed her and reminding me that other people and other generations have worked a lot harder than sitting and writing a dissertation. I’d also like to thank my aunts, uncles, and cousins for treating me the same no matter what and being there with an encouraging comment when I needed it most. Finally, I’d like to express my appreciation to my mother. Your accomplishments have always inspired me. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………………… v Chapter 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………. 1 Chapter 2. Stumbling Toward Perfection: The early Failures of State Prohibition In West Virginia, 1852-1881 …………………………………………………... 20 Chapter 3. Welding the Phalanx: Organization, Early Coordination, and the Road to West Virginia State Prohibition, 1881-1890s …………………………. 61 Chapter 4. Drying the Mountains: Sociopolitical Change, the Anti-Saloon League Ascendancy, and the Triumph of State Prohibition, 1890s-1912 ………………………………………………………. 102 Chapter 5. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Crisis of Enforcement and the Death of West Virginia State Prohibition, 1913-1934 ………………………………….. 168 Conclusion and Epilogue ……………………………………………………………………... 221 Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………….. 230 vii CHAPTER ONE: Introduction State prohibition came to West Virginia at the stroke of midnight on Wednesday, July 1, 1914 via the Yost Law. Newspapers

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