Prohibition in Western Washington

On January 17, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect banning the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol. Until its repeal in 1933, private citizens and former brewing companies came under close scrutiny. As the two cases below illustrate, Western Washington had its share of prohibition-related court cases.

The Centralia Cab Driver

In August 1925, Robert Allbritton of Centralia was arrested for possession of illegal moonshine. The arresting officers found small amounts of alcohol and other items that led to a warrant for Allbritton’s arrest. However, the case was eventually dismissed due to illegal search and seizure concerns, as well as the fact that neither officer in the case appeared to testify against Allbritton at his hearing. Allbritton, a cab driver, was also expected to testify that the items had been left behind by one of his fares. The officers may have initially tried to stop Allbritton because he had a reputation for being a bootlegger, but they claim they had just cause to search his car because he had attempted to run one of the officers over to escape. The U.S. Attorney, once given the facts of the case, had no desire to prosecute and ordered that Allbritton’s impounded car be returned to him.

The Seattle Brewing Company

Since 1883, the Hemrich family had operated breweries throughout Washington, as well as San Francisco and Kamloops, BC. The family’s enterprises included the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company (makers of Rainier Beer) and the Hemrich Brewing Company. During prohibition, the Hemrichs continued making non-alcoholic beverages, but the Hemrich Brewing Company became involved in a bootlegging scandal in 1932. Despite their legal trouble, the Hemrich’s remained brewing giants in the Pacific Northwest once prohibition was repealed in 1933.

Just a selection from the Prohibition files at the National Archives branch in Seattle, the following documents give a sense of how prohibition was enforced and how locals were impacted by this important piece of legislation.

Teaching Tips
Use these Prohibition cases to discuss the motives behind this piece of Progressive legislation, or to outline the process of passing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, the Hemrich Brewing Company can be used as an example of growing industrial concerns in the early twentieth century.

Classroom-Based Assessments: Constitutional Issues

Social Studies EALRs:
2. ECONOMICS The student applies understanding of economic concepts and systems to analyze decision-making and the interactions between individuals, households, businesses, governments, and societies.

5. SOCIAL STUDIES SKILLS The student understands and applies reasoning skills to conduct research, deliberate, form, and evaluate positions through the processes of reading, writing, and communicating.