Building a \u27Temple of Temperance\u27: The Repeal of Prohibition in Virginia and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act

BUILDING A ‘TEMPLE OF TEMPERANCE’: THE REPEAL OF PROHIBITION IN VIRGINIA AND THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL ACT” By Alexandra T. Silva, Bachelor of Arts, 2011 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Major Director: Dr. John T. Kneebone, Chair, Virginia Commonwealth University Department of History This project examines the process by which the Commonwealth of Virginia repealed its statewide prohibition laws and the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933 and created a public monopoly system of alcohol control in 1934. It provides an overview of the enactment of prohibition in Virginia in 1916 by a 1914 statewide referendum, and the problems of enforcement and control over the liquor traffic during the dry years. It carefully details the repeal process in 1933, during which Virginia rapidly reversed its near twenty-year prohibition and restructured its alcohol control policy. It also explains the origins of the state monopoly system which replaced prohibition with the passage of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act of 1934, establishing an ABC Board to control the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of hard liquor, along with licensing of private retailers of light beverages