Prohibition (Double Book Report)

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Prohibition CrimsonAuron 4/19/2011 Pathways to Prohibition: Radicals, Moderates, and Social Movement Outcomes. By Ann-Marie E. Szymanski. (Duke University Press Books, 2003). The evolution of prohibition in the United States of America. Ernest H. Cherrington. (Westerville, Ohio American Issue Press 1920). Prohibition The books chosen deal with an influential period in United States history, which is of course prohibition. These books have similarities, such as they both chronicle some of the history of the temperance movement, going back into the colonial era. In that respect, these books are written from a historical perspective but the book by Cherrington is from the era of prohibition, which has a major impact on his perspective making it vastly different from Szymanski's, who is a modern author who has had the opportunity to observe and study the effects of prohibition. This is why the authors have a different view of the subject, Szymanski looks at the entire movement as a thing of the past and treats it as more of a study of social and political causes and effects, while Cherrington's book tries to support the movement by showing how the older methods failed and what led to the current success of the temperance movement. Albeit, the authors have different perspectives, they still spoke of the early temperance movements, often some of the same parts of the movement. Cherrington's book starts talking about prohibition in the 1700s and the multiple, often small, lesser movements that sprung up during that time. Cherrington details some of the older movements such as the relevance of the year 1826 as the beginning of a period of organized temperance movements in the United States, stating that prior to 1886 numerous local and state societies had sprung up, and influenced the movement. He calls this period "the Period of Organization" for
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