The prohibition movement began decades before the Civil War but did not gain considerable support in Texas until the late nineteenth century. While local option elections and calls for statewide prohibition in Texas failed, national prohibition efforts culminated in the instatement of the Eighteenth Amendment in January 1919 and the Volstead Act in October 1919. This thesis details the prohibition issue through an analysis of eight larger, better-funded Texas breweries who used evolving social and political conditions to combat prohibition and grow their companies, laying the foundation for the Texas brewing industry. This thesis and subsequent digital exhibit provide a better understand of prohibition and local option, while also explaining how the argument against prohibition was based upon business decisions rather than a desire to drink.
","abstract_html":"<p>The prohibition movement began decades before the Civil War but did not gain considerable support in Texas until the late nineteenth century. While local option elections and calls for statewide prohibition in Texas failed, national prohibition efforts culminated in the instatement of the Eighteenth Amendment in January 1919 and the Volstead Act in October 1919. This thesis details the prohibition issue through an analysis of eight larger, better-funded Texas breweries who used evolving social and political conditions to combat prohibition and grow their companies, laying the foundation for the Texas brewing industry. This thesis and subsequent digital exhibit provide a better understand of prohibition and local option, while also explaining how the argument against prohibition was based upon business decisions rather than a desire to drink.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Winthrop DeWitt, Shelby"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts - History","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Perkey Beisel","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Court Carney"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-08-07T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-08-07T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z","subjects":["Public History Commons","Beer History","Texas History","Museum Exhibit Design","Museum Management","United States; Prohibition","Cultural History","History of Religion","Other History","Political History","Public History","Social History","United States History","Women's History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/381","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Perkey Beisel","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Court Carney"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Winthrop DeWitt, Shelby"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-08-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts - History"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Public History Commons","Beer History","Texas History","Museum Exhibit Design","Museum Management","United States; Prohibition","Cultural History","History of Religion","Other History","Political History","Public History","Social History","United States History","Women's History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/381"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The prohibition movement began decades before the Civil War but did not gain considerable support in Texas until the late nineteenth century. While local option elections and calls for statewide prohibition in Texas failed, national prohibition efforts culminated in the instatement of the Eighteenth Amendment in January 1919 and the Volstead Act in October 1919. This thesis details the prohibition issue through an analysis of eight larger, better-funded Texas breweries who used evolving social and political conditions to combat prohibition and grow their companies, laying the foundation for the Texas brewing industry. This thesis and subsequent digital exhibit provide a better understand of prohibition and local option, while also explaining how the argument against prohibition was based upon business decisions rather than a desire to drink.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Brewing History: How Local Option and Prohibition Altered the Texas Brewing Industry"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Perkey Beisel","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Court Carney"],"dc:creator":["Winthrop DeWitt, Shelby"],"dc:date.available":["2020-08-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The prohibition movement began decades before the Civil War but did not gain considerable support in Texas until the late nineteenth century. While local option elections and calls for statewide prohibition in Texas failed, national prohibition efforts culminated in the instatement of the Eighteenth Amendment in January 1919 and the Volstead Act in October 1919. This thesis details the prohibition issue through an analysis of eight larger, better-funded Texas breweries who used evolving social and political conditions to combat prohibition and grow their companies, laying the foundation for the Texas brewing industry. This thesis and subsequent digital exhibit provide a better understand of prohibition and local option, while also explaining how the argument against prohibition was based upon business decisions rather than a desire to drink.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/381"],"dc:subject":["Public History Commons","Beer History","Texas History","Museum Exhibit Design","Museum Management","United States; Prohibition","Cultural History","History of Religion","Other History","Political History","Public History","Social History","United States History","Women's History"],"dc:title":["Brewing History: How Local Option and Prohibition Altered the Texas Brewing Industry"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts - History"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z"}