Background Information
Upon Appleton’s founding, many New England residents decided to make the area their new home. Many of these immigrants were intensely religious, and worshipped in accordance with Puritan law, which strictly denounced licentious behavior. In addition to having strong reservations about sex, profanity, and laziness, they also condemned drinking. The consumption of alcohol was to become a huge issue, distancing New England immigrants from those newly arrived from Europe.
European immigrants who found their way to the Appleton area were primarily German, Irish, British, and Dutch. They rushed to Wisconsin under promises of prosperity from Wisconsin land agents in ports of arrival, books, newspaper articles, and other sources. Many brought with them beliefs and customs that offended puritanical residents.
The first liquor law in Appleton was drafted in1854, but enforced very weakly. In the two years that followed, several temperance (anti-alcohol) events were staged at local churches. The most influential event occurred at a Methodist church in 1856. There, a committee of citizens formed to seek ways to better enforce the 1854 liquor law. They observed businesses in the area and reported any that were in violation of the ban on selling or even possessing liquor.
However, despite the official ban on liquor and the strong community vigilance, Appleton breweries continued to operate. The most famous of these breweries has traditionally been known as the George Walter Brewery, which manufactured Adler Brau (Eagle Brew) beer up until 1972. The brewery was officially opened in 1862 under the name of Meunch Brewery (there were several Meunch plants in Appleton by the end of the century.) In 1890, George Walter bought the Meunch plant on the corner of Walnut and Lawrence streets. This was followed by the company’s acquisition of another Meunch brewery on Oneida Street in 1918.
At the end of the American Civil War in 1865, Appleton’s anti-alcohol policy came under increasing scrutiny for several reasons. First of all, the growing immigrant population had a more lax attitude toward alcohol consumption. Secondly, concerns of the long and painful war had overshadowed the alcohol issue and it was no longer at the forefront in Appleton politics. Finally, countless veterans and civilians had experienced unimaginable horrors and pain during the war and liquor had become not only a physical anesthetic, but a mental one as well. The population in general had become more accepting of the consumption of alcohol. As a result, the liquor ban was repealed in 1865.
However, some Appleton area residents were still strictly opposed to drinking. In 1868, at a saloon opening, temperance advocates and bar patrons became involved in a large brawl. Clearly, the issue of alcohol was fall from solved, and although temperance organizations in existence since the 1850s had experienced setbacks as a result of a changing society, the years to come would shift public opinion back to their favor.
The Daughters of Temperance, Sons of Temperance, Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and other temperance groups continued their fight against alcohol in the Appleton area from 1865 to the beginning of the 20th century. The success of such groups in once again influencing local residents against alcohol was rooted in a national movement toward Prohibition (a ban on the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol).
In January of 1920, national Prohibition took effect through the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It lasted until 1933, when it was finally overridden by the Twenty-First Amendment. Many businesses, such as the George Walter brewery were deeply hurt during the thirteen-year span. However, as in the case of Walter’s breweries, some were able to survive though other forms of operation (such as making ginger ale or root beer). Others simply kept production equipment, but had to release staff; clearly, they did not believe that the prohibition of alcohol would be permanent.
Since 1933, no official prohibitory ban on alcohol has been staged in the Appleton area. Recently, however, some Appleton residents have initiated and succeeded in establishing a smoking ban in the city. The smoking ban first passed in April 2005 and again in April 2006, with a stated purpose of making all places of business smoke-free.
Unlike prohibitory laws before it, the modern ban was put into effect through referendum. As in the prohibition of alcohol, certain businesses have felt the effects of new legislation greater than others. In the same sense that breweries and bars were financially hurt in prior prohibitory events, local taverns, bars, and pubs claim a loss of business as a result of the smoking ban.
