Hang the Moon

The Prohibition Era was a significant period in American history that had a profound impact on the social, cultural, and economic landscape of the country. This era, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, was marked by the nationwide ban on the production, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. This ban was enforced through the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution and was intended to address various social and moral concerns prevalent at the time. Supporters of Prohibition believed that banning alcohol would lead to a reduction in crime, poverty, and other social issues associated with alcohol consumption.

In Hang the Moon, Prohibition affects the characters’ motivations, relationships, and experiences. The illicit nature of alcohol consumption, the emergence of underground economies, and the tension between personal freedoms and societal regulations contribute to the complexity of the characters’ lives. Through Sallie Kincaid’s character, the novel also explores the negative impacts of the Prohibition Era on common people, who believed prohibition laws were made by out-of-touch politicians:

Big old ugly word that means you ain’t allowed to do something. A bunch of numbskulls in Richmond and Washington who think they’re smarter than everyone else pro-hib-it-ing other people from doing what they got to do to keep their families from starving to death. Seems downright un-American to me (243).

The prohibition of alcohol had varying effects on families and relationships. It also led to shifts in family dynamics and social interactions, which are evident in the novel. Family tensions, such as those between Sallie and Mary, are influenced by the era’s moral debates and personal choices surrounding alcohol consumption. The ban on alcohol production and sales resulted in economic turmoil. People seized the opportunity to profit from the illegal alcohol trade. As Rawley points out, “pass a law like Prohibition and you’re all but begging men to break it” (193). All operations related to alcohol and whiskey went underground, which is evident in the novel when Sallie and the boys, called “rumrunners” (303), secretly trade whiskey to Roanoke. The characters’ involvement in the illegal alcohol trade and the challenges legal businesses face allude to the era’s blurred lines between legal and illegal activities. For example, Sallie realizes that “legal and illegal and right and wrong don’t always line up” (219).

The Prohibition Era led to debates about personal freedom, morality, and the effectiveness of government regulation in the United States. The era coincides with the Great Depression, which began after the stock market crash of 1929 and brough the “Roaring 20s” to an end. As a result, class and socioeconomic status became points of tension. Walls observes that sometimes the “so-called law is nothing but the haves telling the have-nots to stay in their place” (219). In the novel, Caywood streets and houses become “empty” and “deserted” (160), mimicking the real-life fate of small towns that the laws affected. Prohibition officers “ranged over the county, banging on doors, waving guns, flashing badges, cuffing people, shoving and punching anyone who resisted or back-talked or even questioned them” (163). They treated “human beings like animals” (165) and herded them around “like livestocks at branding time” (162). These events resonate with the broader conversations surrounding individual rights and government control during the era.