The Personal Liberty League (PLL) was a series of ad hoc political

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians * Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...

groups formed throughout the United States (mainly at state and local levels) in the late 1860s through the 1920s. They were organized in response to the threat posed to the liquor industry by the growing political strength of the

American temperance movement American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. Businessmen and other antiprohibitionists organized the first Personal Liberty League in Massachusetts in 1867 to fight for repeal of the state's prohibitory Maine Law. Such organizations proliferated throughout the country over the next several decades. They also opposed

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. One of the first references to the purpose of the PLL was found in an 1873 article in the American German language newspaper

Illinois Staats-Zeitung ''Illinois Staats-Zeitung'' (''Illinois State Newspaper'') was one of the most well-known German-language newspapers of the United States; it was published in Chicago from 1848 until 1922. Along with the '' Westliche Post'' and '' Anzeiger des We ...

published in

Chicago, IL Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. "The aim of the "Personal Liberty League" is to protect the liberty of the individual against the law." In addition to political lobbying, the Leagues also attempted to mediate between the Temperance groups and the brewers and liquor dealers to ameliorate the worst aspects of the spirits trade. For example, local chapters campaigned to have saloons close during church hours. By 1900, the PLL expanded its lobbying efforts to include opposition to the anti-gambling movement - especially in horse-racing.Postcard by Robson and Adee, Publishers, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "Pop and his Pet Pig at Walled-Off-Astoria, Saratoga Springs, N.Y." (circa 1908)

Sources

Prohibition in the United States 1872 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1870 Gambling in the United States Anti-suffragist organizations {{poli-org-stub