Corey Ford

One of the main reasons Prohibition failed was because of widespread civil disobedience by the general public. Many citizens, even self-proclaimed "drys," continued to frequent bars and purchase alcohol for their own use. Corey Ford was an American sporting writer who vehemently opposed Prohibition. In the following article, which appeared in the May 1930 Vanity Fair, Ford advises his readers to continue to break the law. Ford urges his audience to join his AntiSpeakeasy League, an organization devoted to repealing Prohibition laws in order to rid the land of the "necessary evil" of speakeasies and the exorbitant prices they can charge for liquor. The satiric humor of Ford's plea to join the fictitious league was not lost on those who had witnessed the power of the Anti-Saloon League in lobbying for the passage of the national Prohibition...