they also declared, it is here at last - dry Americas first birthday (Kobler 11). Women established a group of their own as well. In 1874, Protestant women formed the Womens Christian Temperance Union. They, like the Anti-Saloon League of America, cited the advantages of Prohibition (Kobler 10). As a whole, groups such as these utilized their First Amendment rights to the fullest to preach what they believed.God and religion were essential to those fighting to keep Prohibition intact. Reverend Billy Sunday incorporated the issue of Prohibition into many of his sermons. In his most well-known of these sermons Sunday claims:The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now. Women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent (Thornton 8).The Womens Christian Temperance Union held a strong influence in the church scene . They spoke of Prohibition as Gods present to the nation (Kobler 11) and sponsored conventions for all who saw Prohibition as a gift from the Father (Kobler 11-13). Some individuals saw entering politics and taking public office as the best way to make a difference in the fight for Prohibition. Senator Morris Sheppard was determined and confident of keeping the nation alcohol free. He believed that with people such as himself in positions of power, the chances of the 18th Amendment (outlawing anything involving alcohol) being repealed were practically non-existent (Merz ix). Obviously, Sheppards assumption would prove incorrect.The efforts of those against Prohibition were much more radical than the actions of the opposition. Several groups were formed, allowing many to voice their opinions about the evils that existed in the Prohibition laws. The most severe problems resulted from the illegal manufacture of liquor by individuals, and from numerous rebellious acts t...