Global InformationWayne Wheeler information
Wayne B. Wheeler | |
|---|---|
 Portrait c. 1920 | |
| Born | November 10, 1869 Brookfield Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | September 5, 1927 (aged 57) Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S. |
| Resting place | Green Lawn Cemetery |
| Education | Oberlin College Western Reserve University |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher Attorney Political organizer Lobbyist |
| Known for | Prohibition advocate |
| Political party | Republican[1][2][3][4] |
| Spouse | Ella Belle Candy (m. 1901-1927, her death) |
| Children | 3 |
Wayne Bidwell Wheeler (November 10, 1869 – September 5, 1927) was an American attorney and longtime leader of the Anti-Saloon League. The leading advocate of the prohibitionist movement in the late 1800s and early 1900s, he played a major role in the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which outlawed the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages.[5]
Wheeler was a native of Brookfield Township in Trumbull County, Ohio where he was raised on his family's farm. A childhood accident caused by an intoxicated hired hand gave Wheeler a lifelong aversion to alcohol. He used the story later to recruit converts to the prohibition movement and to promote a prohibition amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Wheeler graduated from high school in Ohio, received his teaching qualification, and taught for two years before becoming a student at Oberlin College. After graduating in 1894, Wheeler became an organizer for the Anti-Saloon League. He earned his LL.B. degree from Western Reserve University in 1898. In 1902, Wheeler became a leader of the Anti-Saloon League, and perfected a system of single issue pressure politics, including media campaigns and public demonstrations, to win enactment of laws limiting or banning the sale and consumption of alcohol.
Wheeler's career hit its high point with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act in 1920. As enforcement of Prohibition became increasingly difficult, federal agencies resorted to draconian measures including poisoning alcohol to try to dissuade people from consuming it.[6] Wheeler's refusal to compromise, for example by amending Prohibition measures to allow for consumption of beer, made him appear increasingly unreasonable. His influence began to wane, and he retired in 1927.
Soon after his retirement, Wheeler was beset by several tragedies. His wife was killed in an accidental kitchen fire, and his father-in-law had a fatal heart attack after trying unsuccessfully to aid her. Wheeler suffered from kidney disease, and died at a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan on September 5, 1927.
- ^ Slavicek, Louise C. (2009). The Prohibition Era. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 9781438104379.
- ^ Gold, David M. (2009). Democracy in Session: A History of the Ohio General Assembly. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821418444.
- ^ Murray, Robert K. (1976). The 103rd Ballot: Democrats and the Disaster in Madison Square Garden. Harper & Row. ISBN 9780060131241.
although professing political neutrality.
- ^ The Wine and Spirit Bulletin, Volume 29. Bulletin Publishing Company. 1915.
- ^ "Wayne Wheeler". American National Biography.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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