Repeal of National Prohibition — The Artifacts

Since the beginning of the Republic only 27 amendments have been adopted to the Constitution of the United States, ten of them almost immediately.   Only one amendment, the 18th, has ever been repealed.  That one imposed a ban on making or selling alcoholic beverages anywhere in the country.  For the next 14 years a drumbeat arose for “Repeal,” fueled by bootlegging, spikes in crime, and the economic woes of the Great Depression.  The progression toward ending the ban on liquor can be tracked through a series of artifacts.

The first is a license plate, meant for the front of cars in states requiring only a rear plate as many did.  It makes no pretense at subtlety, shouting in black on yellow:  “Repeal the 18th Amendment.”  Less blatant were an entire range of postcards that made a mockery of the attempt Americans from drinking.  Hip flasks were a familiar fashion statement of the 1920s, though seldom did the wearer show his off, fearful a viewer might want a snort.

The Presidential candidacy of Al Smith, a popular governor of New York and a confirmed “wet” sparked hope in many hearts that his election would mark a turning point in the battle against the prohibitionists.  The political button shown here is one of my favorite artifacts — humorous but to the point.  Even though the Democratic Party embraced Repeal, Smith’s New York accent and Catholic faith turned off voters and Herbert Hoover won handily.  Hoover embraced the 18th Amendment calling it “The Great Experiment.”

Carry Nation, the axe-swinging prohibitionist from Kansas who regularly took chunks of wood out of saloon bars was made a symbol of ridicule as an out of control fanatic.  An eating establishment might display a hatchet like the one here to remind customers of the destructive conduct that had accompanied the so-called “temperance” forces.

Before Prohibition a German ceramics-maker called Schafer & Vater had a line of figural bottles that several U.S. distillers made use of as “nips,” holding several swallows of whiskey and often given away.   When that business ended, the German partners, showing a sense of humor, issued a series of bottles featuring Uncle Sam pouring himself a drink while sitting on a barrel incised “What We Want.”

By 1932 it was becoming clear that the days of National Prohibition were numbered.  A beer glass etched with the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey, both resting on a beer barrel, asked the question:  “Eventually, Why Not…1932”  The glass may have anticipated the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who had been Governor of New York.  Roosevelt’s theme was “Happy Days Are Here Again,” captured in a Repeal-oriented fish bowl.  Perhaps that is why a large goblet of beer became known as a “fish bowl.”

With Roosevelt’s landslide win over Hoover in 1932, hopes for a quick end to Prohibition triggered a number of artifacts.  Here is a clock that is configured to look like the helm of ship.  It is being manned by a standing figure of the President who is characterized as “FDR - The Man of the Hour.”  If one looks closely at the color picture on the clock dial, it depicts a bartender with a martini shaker and customers drinking cocktails.   Clear inference:  The clock is ticking toward the end of “dry.”  The placard shown below urged Americans to “Help the President with Law Enforcement” and repeal the 18th Amendment. 

When Repeal finally was achieved in 1934, the occasion was saluted with a ceramic beer serving set that included a pitcher bearing a caricature of a jaunty President Roosevelt.  Three beer mugs completed the set from Stangl Pottery Company of Flemington, N.J.  The mugs featured  Roosevelt, Al Smith (center) and Democratic Party chairman, Jim Farley.  

Finally, 1935 brought new kind of postcard to the fore, cards celebrating Repeal with comic images.  Among them were illustrations that depicted individuals celebrating by jumping into barrels of whiskey.  Several of these were featured on this blog in my post of April 26, 2013.  Here is an example that shows a gent inside a barrel of “very old” whiskey, drinking greedily of its contents.  Once again Roosevelt’s theme song sets the theme.

From the imposition of the 18th Amendment to its disposition by the 21st had taken 14 years, a relatively short time in the context of history.  During that interregnum a great many changes occurred in America, events that have spawned hundreds of books.  I have yet to find one dedicated to Repeal, however, that so entertainingly describes the journey as the story told by these and similar artifacts.  

Politicians with Feats of Clay

It is 2012. The country is immersed in national politics, with the primary seasons over and the head-to-head between Barak Obama and Mitt Romney in full steam. Accordingly it seems appropriate to take a look at how Presidential contenders and their parties have been captured in ceramics down through the years. 

 Grover Cleveland was the first Democratic President following the Civil War. . Cleveland also is the only U.S. President to serve two nonconsecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.  He also was a man of tremendous girth so that it is not clear whether the pottery pig shown here was a ceramic artifact from his supporters or his detractors.

Teddy Roosevelt became Chief Executive in 1901 when, as vice president, President McKinley was assassinated.  Roosevelt was 42 years old when sworn in as President of the United States in 1901, making him the youngest president ever. Known for his “cowboy” persona,  Roosevelt declared once that in foreign affairs it was good to “walk softly but carry big stick.”   An enterprising potter incorporated that idea in a corked whiskey flask. The item probably dates from Teddy’s second term, 1905-1909.

The small whiskey jug shown here was entirely appropriate vessel to  carry the name of  “Al Smith.”   Smith,  an Irishman, a Catholic and a very popular governor of New York, was an unabashed “Wet.”  That is, he opposed National Prohibition of alcohol which had been imposed in 1920.  His opponent, Herbert Hoover was a Dry and in the election of 1928 he trounced Smith in a landslide.

 Old timers may remember the time when the rooster was a popular symbol of Democrats.  In the 20th Century it was the donkey that came to epitomize the party of Jefferson and Jackson.  Here it is a ceramic figural labeled “New Deal Coin Bank.” The designation likely was a sarcastic comment on President Franklin Roosevelt’s programs which were widely attacked by for allegedly putting money into Democratic  coffers.

Like the donkey, the elephant has become a familiar object in political parlance as a symbol for the Republican Party.   Less well known may be Everett Dirksen, after whom one of the Washington D.C. Senate office buildings is named.  In December 1943, Congressman Dirksen announced that he would be a candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1944. He stated that a coalition of Midwestern Republican Congressmen had urged him to run and that his campaign was serious.  Word was he really was trying to syphon votes away from another Midwest Republican, Wendell Wilkie, or was angling to become vice president.  When all was said and done, Dirksen received not a single vote for either office at the 1944 Republican Convention. He subsequently would be elected to the U.S. Senate and part of the Republican leadership there.

 Adlai Stevenson was another politician who twice sought the presidency.   Stevenson had been a very successful governor of Illinois and the Democratic Party was strongly behind his candidacy.  But in the elections of both 1952 and 1956 he faced Dwight D. Eisenhower,  a World War Two general and hero.  A coffee cup depicted Stevenson apparently riding the Demo donkey toward the White House.  He never got there.

 The ceramic ashtray, next in line,  is clearly a satire with its message: “Nixon and Agnew in ‘76.” By the time of the 1976 Presidential campaign,  Richard Nixon had left the White House in disgrace over Watergate and Spiro Agnew had preceded him from the vice presidency because of a criminal conviction in Maryland.  Neither was in the slightest contention for the Republican nomination.  Jerry Ford and Nelson Rockefeller were the (losing) GOP candidates that year.  The winner, however, was a man whose toothy grin marked a field day for cartoonists and caricaturist -- Jimmy Carter.  His face is unmistakable on a ceramic coffee mug.

Beer mugs and coffee cups frequently have been the utilitarian ceramic of choice for political comment.   The elephants shown here, dancing in line, date from 1987 during the Reagan Administration.  Republicans in Congress were well known for hewing to party discipline and doing the will of the President.  The cup is an affectionate spoof on “keeping the party line.”

 Our final piece brings the story pretty much up to date.   The last ceramic is a small statue of George W. Bush.   Bush is as recognizable on the item as the former President as Jimmy Carter on the coffee mug.  Nevertheless, I am somewhat mystified by the crown.   In fairness, whatever Bush’s shortcomings may have been, taking on imperial airs was not one of them.   That said, the statue fully is in the American tradition of satirizing our leaders.

 Here we have seen politicians described and sometimes satirized in pottery “feats of clay.”  Not a new phenomenon.  We have seen examples ranging for more than 132 years in American history.  Let’s hope the tradition lasts another 127 years, one symbol of free speech in America.  And, by the way,  a source of interesting collectibles.