Prohibition Party
political party in the United States
The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party in the United States and the third-longest active party.
Although it was never one of the leading parties in the United States, it was once an important force in the Third Party System during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The organization declined following the enactment of Prohibition in the United States but saw a rise in vote totals following the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933. However, following World War II it declined, with 1948 being the last time its presidential candidate received over 100,000 votes and 1976 being the last time the party received over 10,000 votes.
The party's platform has changed over its existence. Its platforms throughout the 19th century supported progressive and populist positions including women's suffrage, equal racial and gender rights, bimetallism, equal pay, and an income tax. The platform of the party today is progressive on economic issues in that it supports Social Security and free education, but is conservative on social issues, such as supporting temperance and advocating for a consistent life ethic. The party also advocates for environmental stewardship.
History
Foundation
In 1868 and 1869, branches of the International Organisation of Good Templars, a global temperance organization, passed resolutions supporting the creation of a political party in favor of alcoholic prohibition.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Prohibition Party” is political party in the United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Prohibition, Party and political, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q515856. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 1948, 1976 and 1868.
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This entry incorporates text from “Prohibition Party” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.