Personal Liberty League

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Personal Liberty League was a series of ad hoc political

American temperance movement.[1] Businessmen and other antiprohibitionists organized the first Personal Liberty League in Massachusetts in 1867 to fight for repeal of the state's prohibitory Maine Law. Such organizations proliferated throughout the country over the next several decades.[2] They also opposed women's suffrage.[3]

One of the first references to the purpose of the PLL was found in an 1873 article in the American German language newspaper

Chicago, IL. "The aim of the "Personal Liberty League" is to protect the liberty of the individual against the law."[4]

In addition to political lobbying, the Leagues also attempted to mediate between the Temperance groups and the brewers and liquor dealers to ameliorate the worst aspects of the spirits trade. For example, local chapters campaigned to have saloons close during church hours.[5]

By 1900, the PLL expanded its lobbying efforts to include opposition to the anti-gambling movement - especially in horse-racing.[6]

Sources

  1. ^ Catlin, George E. G. Liquor Control. NY: Henry Holt & Co., 1931, and Barleen, Steven D. "Personal Liberty League". The SAGE Encyclopedia of Alcohol: Social, Cultural, and Historical Perspectives. Edited by Scott C. Martin. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  2. ^ Volk, Kyle G. "Personal Liberty." Democracies in America: Keywords for the 19th Century and Today. Edited by D. Berton Emerson and Gregory Laski. Oxford, 2023.
  3. ^ Carpenter, Katie; McEvers, Lisa Fair (2020). "100 Years of Women's Suffrage: Celebrating Pilgrims on the Journey for Equality-One Step at a Time" (PDF). North Dakota Law Review. 95 (3): 490–491.
  4. ^ THE "PERSONAL LIBERTY LEAGUE." - flps.newberry.org Foreign Language Press Survey. Retrieved July 24, 2019.[≤http://flps.newberry.org/article/5418474_2_1_0735/≥[permanent dead link]]
  5. ^ Sullivan, Jack. "The Jaegers: Doing their Duty in Dubuque - Saturday, July 6, 2019" Retrieved July 24, 2019.[≤https://pre-prowhiskeymen.blogspot.com/≥[permanent dead link]]
  6. ^ Postcard by Robson and Adee, Publishers, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "Pop and his Pet Pig at Walled-Off-Astoria, Saratoga Springs, N.Y." (circa 1908)