Wet and dry in the 'Land of Pleasant Living': Baltimore, Maryland, and the policy of national prohibition, 1913--193

From its implementation in 1920 through its repeal in 1933, National Prohibition was one of the most controversial public policies ever enacted in the United States and also one of the most visible and publicized issues in American history. Prohibition had an effect on American society and culture as well as an impact on American political structures and the political culture of that era.;Beginning with the passage of the Webb-Kenyon Act in 1913---after decades of local prohibition policies and local option laws---calls for a national policy on alcohol prohibition gradually increased. Spurred on by America's entry into World War I, the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1918 created a national policy which prohibited the sale, transportation, and manufacture of intoxicating beverages and the Volstead Act provided for the federal enforcement of that amendment. National Prohibition remained in effect for thirteen years until, in the midst of the Great Depression, the amendment was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in December 1933.;This dissertation is a case study that presents an historical analysis of Prohibition in Baltimore and Maryland. Using historical and public policy methods, Prohibition is examined at the local, state, and national levels with a focus on the policy process: formulation, implementation, and termination. Prohibition had an impact on Baltimore's and Maryland's political structure, society, and culture during this era, and the region may have had some impact on the policy as well.;Research questions focus on the costs and benefits of Prohibition, the unintended consequences of the implemented policy, dual federalism, the political system and leadership in Baltimore and Maryland, and the impact that Baltimore and Maryland may have had on Prohibition. The dissertation examines the research questions in relation to issues of crime enforcement, religion, gender, ethnicity, race, economics, advertisements & political cartoons, electoral politics/election results/voter preference, and political culture.;In its conclusion, the dissertation makes a case for the value of policy history in public-policymaking and briefly examines the legacy of National Prohibition, revealing how the policy is still relevant and might be possibly useful in contemporary public policymaking and decision-making processes.