John Barleycorn Must Die: The War Against Drink In Arkansas (Hardcover)

by Ben F., III Johnson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Ben Johnson's sweeping, highly readable and "spirited" overview of Arkansas's efforts to regulate and halt the consumption of alcohol reveals much about the texture of life and politics in the state--and country--as it grappled with strong opinions on both sides.

"Johnson is an indefatigable researcher, tenacious in ferreting out the details. His study of the war against demon rum is fascinating. . . . This book doesn't take a position 'fer or agin' spiritous liquor, but it does help the reader to understand that, in earlier times, opposition to the sale and consumption was deep and wide."--from the Foreword by U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson

From the Publisher
A lively, illustrated history of the state's war against demon rum

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 99 pages
• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press (March 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557287872
• ISBN-13: 978-1557287878
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,492,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An impressive contribution to both American History and Arkansas State History library reference collections, August 14, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

John Barleycorn Must Die: The War Against Drink In Arkansas by Ben Johnson III (Associate Professor of History, Southern Arkansas University) begins with the early attempts to keep alcohol from the Native Americans during Arkansas' colonial period. Then temperance groups focused on outlawing alcohol in the antebellum communities of Arkansas. After the Civil War new federal taxes on whiskey production in Arkansas led to violence between revenue agents and moonshiners. The state joined the growing national movement against saloons the culminated in 1915 when the legislature approved a measure to health the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol (which prohibition included the then thriving wine industry in Arkansas). The state supported national prohibition, but the people became disillusioned with the widespread violations of the law. But the state waited to repeal its own prohibition law until compelled to do so by a fiscal crisis in 1935 that required it to raise revenue. Even then, the new law only authorized retail liquor stores, and not the return of taverns or bars. A final effort to restore prohibition in 1950 was rebuffed by voters, but there are still 43 counties in Arkansas remain dry, and only 32 are wet -- with disputes over the granting of private club licenses continuing to be a lively social and political concern throughout the state. Enhanced with 50 photographs and an index, John Barleycorn Must Die is a work of considerable scholarship and an impressive contribution to both American History and Arkansas State History library reference collections.