Maine Memory Network

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Temperance Membership

"GALLERIES: A Call to Temperance | Temperance Membership | Neal Dow | Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Women Leaders and Temperance

"… Collections of Maine Historical Society Temperance march in Bangor, 1909Courtesy of Henry Gartley, an individual partner W.C.T.U."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - A Call to Temperance

"GALLERIES: A Call to Temperance | Temperance Membership | Neal Dow | Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Society Copes

"… 1997.248 Hires Root Beer was marketed as a "great temperance drink." GALLERIES: Bootleggers vs. Police | Society Copes | Reform and Repeal"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1820 to 1865: Temperance and the Maine Law

"GALLERIES: A Call to Temperance | Temperance Membership | Neal Dow | Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery"

Prohibition in Maine in the 1920s

Federal Prohibition took hold of America in 1920 with the passing of the Volstead Act that banned the sale and consumption of all alcohol in the US. However, Maine had the Temperance movement long before anyone was prohibited from taking part in one of America's most popular past times. Starting in 1851, the struggles between the "drys" and the "wets" of Maine lasted for 82 years, a period of time that was everything but dry and rife with nothing but illegal activity.

Power of Potential

The National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPWC) held their seventh annual convention in Portland during July 12 to July 18, 1925. Over 2,000 working women from around the country visited the city.

Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In

Adorning oneself to look one's "best" has varied over time, gender, economic class, and by event. Adornments suggest one's sense of identity and one's intent to stand out or fit in.

A Craze for Cycling

Success at riding a bike mirrored success in life. Bicycling could bring families together. Bicycling was good for one's health. Bicycling was fun. Bicycles could go fast. Such were some of the arguments made to induce many thousands of people around Maine and the nation to take up the new pastime at the end of the nineteenth century.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Overview & Introduction

"Read about the issues that framed the temperance debate and establish the framework for this exhibit."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Neal Dow

"GALLERIES: A Call to Temperance | Temperance Membership | Neal Dow | Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Politics and Enforcement

"… Historical Society Francis Murphy gave his first temperance lecture in Portland on April 3, 1870 and soon became a powerful voice."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Reform and Repeal

"1949; 2005.061.13657 These temperate citizens on a parade review stand in Westbrook, show the serious side of Prohibition."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Quenching the Thirst

"Bunker, Waterville, 1889 Collections of Maine Historical Society S.C. 3 X The Bugle Bowdoin College, 1881 Collections of Maine Historical…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1919 to 1934: The Nation Follows Maine Into Prohibition

"… the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the 18th amendment was submitted in 1917."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1865 to 1919: The Drys Gain New Adherents and Leaders

"… and Democratic politicians, built a power base on temperance success. Mainers contributed to this national reform through numerous leaders…"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Influential & Interesting Documents

"X Permit for Nathaniel Deering of Portland to sell liquor, 4 February 1788 Collections of Maine Historical Society Coll."

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery

"Libby Photography by J. David Bohl GALLERIES: A Call to Temperance | Temperance Membership | Neal Dow | Drinking: Elegance and Debauchery"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Business as Usual

"GALLERIES: Politics and Enforcement | Women Leaders and Temperance | Quenching the Thirst | Business as Usual"

Rum, Riot, and Reform - 1620 to 1820: New England's Great Secret

"… became the first major Maine forum to advocate temperate use of spirits. GALLERIES: Drinking Implements | Taverns, People, and Scenes |…"

Amazing! Maine Stories

These stories -- that stretch from 1999 back to 1759 -- take you from an amusement park to the halls of Congress. There are inventors, artists, showmen, a railway agent, a man whose civic endeavors helped shape Portland, a man devoted to the pursuit of peace and one known for his military exploits, Maine's first novelist, a woman who recorded everyday life in detail, and an Indian who survived a British attack.

Longfellow: The Man Who Invented America

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a man and a poet of New England conscience. He was influenced by his ancestry and his Portland boyhood home and experience.

Presidents and Campaigns

Several Mainers have run for president or vice president, a number of presidents, past presidents, and future presidents have had ties to the state or visited here, and, during campaign season, many presidential candidates and their family members have brought their campaigns to Maine.

Rum, Riot, and Reform - Bootleggers vs. Police

"X Still Copper Collections of Maine Historical Society 1998.39 a-c Cache of liquor, Portland, 1920Maine Historical Society/MaineToday…"