Eucharist in Prohibition Years

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During the Prohibition years, did the Church in America still get to use wine? Or did we have to stop using the chalice?

-Hannah

-- Hannah (archiegoodwin_and_nerowolfe@hotmail.com), March 05, 2001

Answers

From Brittanica.com-

The drive for national prohibition emerged out of a renewed attack on the sale of liquor in many states after 1906. The underlying forces at work to support national prohibition included antipathy to the growth of cities (the presumed scene of most drinking), evangelical Protestant middle-class anti-alien and anti-Roman Catholic sentiment, and rural domination of the state legislatures, without which ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment would have been impossible. Other forces included the corruption existing in the saloons and the industrial employers' increased concern for preventing accidents and increasing the efficiency of workers.

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From-http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/studies/nc/nc2a.htm

Representative Andrew Volstead, a prohibitionist, introduced a bill to Congress written by Wheeler, that encased the toughest laws of each of the Prohibition states. This became known as the Volstead Act, passed in Congress in October 1919 (over President Wilson's veto). This enforced the 18th Amendment and defined "intoxicating liquors" as containing more than 0.5% alcohol. This Act was pushed through the Senate by Warren Harding, who would become President the next year. Harding was a big drinker, but found it politically viable to push the Act through the Senate.

Again, immigration played a role in the division that arose from Prohibition. Whereas the Republican Party was pretty "dry", the Democratic Party received much of its support from the large urban immigrant areas. Many of these areas had large Catholic or Jewish populations, which had traditionally had some sort of alcohol as part of their religious observance. This led to later problems supporting the Prohibition laws.

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a site that may help you..... http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cathprot.htm ----- another interesting one.... http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/3/78.03.03.x.html ------------- another site... http://www.democrats.org.au/sa/parlt/budget99/0602_f.htm ------------ Found this on some home brew page (???) "Either way, the religious exception for Catholics during Prohibition was on First Amendment grounds, I think." ---------- Thought I'd just throw this one in for everyone... http://www.wsu.edu/~tcook/doc/RAPT/Chapt3.html

-- jackiea (jackiea@hotmail.com), March 06, 2001.


They used Welch's grape juice.

-- Jenn Cate (jcate@welchs.com), June 27, 2001.

Section 29 of the Volstead act exempted those who use alcohol for medicanal or Sacramental purposes. Many a California winery owes its' continued existence to this clause.

-- Ken (test@test.com), March 14, 2003.

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