The Molly Pitcher Club was founded in 1922 as a woman's anti-prohibition organization. They argued that drinking itself was not illegal and so the government should not get involved with a personal and private choice.Rose, 2

History

The Molly Pitcher Club was created in 1922 by

M. Louise Gross M. Louise Gross (1884–1951) was secretary to New York City Tammany Hall district leader Thomas F. Foley, a close associate of Al Smith. She served in leadership positions in repeal of prohibition organizations including the Molly Pitcher C ...

to campaign for the

repeal of prohibition In the United States, the nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages was repealed by the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933. Background In 1919, the requisite number of state legislatures ratif ...

.,Rose, 68 which began in the United States in 1920. The organization was named after a Revolutionary War folklore heroine,

Molly Pitcher Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman who fought in the American Revolutionary War. She is most often identified as Mary Ludwig Hays, who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Another possibility is Margaret Corbin, who helped ...

. Molly Pitcher was the name given to women who carried water to men on the battlefield during the American Revolution. The stated purpose of the Molly Pitchers was to prevent "any tendency on the part of our National Government to interfere with the personal habits of the American people except those habits which may be designated as criminal."Rose, 67 Although they had national aspirations, the group was limited to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and held meetings at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and

Delmonico's Delmonico's is a series of restaurants that have operated in New York City, and Greenwich, Connecticut, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan. The origin ...

. In 1923 a group of 120 women from the Molly Pitcher Club arrived in Albany to urge Governor

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

to repeal the state prohibition enforcement measure called the Mullan-Gage Act. This march was the club's largest activity and faded quickly thereafter. Gross explained that the "activities of the Molly Pitcher Club subsided because there was nothing of importance in the prohibition field for it to do."Root, p? The club's attempt to expand its all-female membership was limited by its direct relationship to the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment, which was larger, national, and accepted both men and women.

References

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Sources

*Kenneth D. Rose, ''American Women and the Repeal of Prohibition'', American Social Experience Series, no. 33, (New York University Press, 1966) *Grace C. Root, ''Women and Repeal: The Story of the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Repeal'' (NY: Harper & Brothers, 1934) Prohibition in the United States 1922 establishments in New York (state) Organizations established in 1922 Political organizations based in the United States Women's organizations based in the United States Women in New York (state)