Wayne Bidwell Wheeler was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and prohibitionist

Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...

. Using deft political pressure and what might today be called a litmus test

Litmus test (politics)

A litmus test is a question asked of a potential candidate for high office, the answer to which would determine whether the nominating official would proceed with the appointment or nomination...

, he was able to influence many governments, and eventually the U.S. government, to prohibit alcohol.

Wheeler was born in Brookfield, Ohio, to Mary Ursula Hutchinson Wheeler and Joseph Wheeler. He graduated from Oberlin

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...

 in 1894 and in law from Western Reserve University in 1898. While a student he engaged in temperance work, and after graduation joined the Anti-Saloon League

Anti-Saloon League

The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...

 as a field secretary. In 1902 he became superintendent, and in 1906 led a successful fight against the reelection of Governor Myron T. Herrick

Myron T. Herrick

Myron Timothy Herrick was a Republican politician from Ohio. He served as the 42nd Governor of Ohio.-Biography:...

. The defeat of the Herrick campaign was the first significant victory of the Anti-Saloon League in American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politics. Wheeler became the attorney and general counsel for the National Anti-Saloon League

Anti-Saloon League

The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...

, a member of the executive committee, and its head lobbyist. He became widely known as the "dry boss" because of his influence and power.

Under Wheeler's leadership, the League focused entirely on the goal of achieving Prohibition

Prohibition

Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...

. It organized at the grass-roots level and worked extensively through churches. It supported or opposed candidates based entirely on their position regarding prohibition, completely disregarding political party affiliation or other issues. Unlike other temperance

Temperance movement

A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...

 groups, the Anti-Saloon League worked with the two major parties rather than backing the smaller Prohibition Party

Prohibition Party

The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...

. Wheeler developed what is now known as pressure politics

Pressure politics

Pressure politics generally refers to political action which relies heavily on the use of mass media and mass communications to persuade politicians that the public wants or demands a particular action. However, it commonly includes intimidation, threats, and other covert techniques as well.The...

, which is sometimes also called Wheelerism (Childs).

Wheeler was the de facto leader of the Anti-Saloon League and he wielded considerable political power, according to Justin Steuart, his former Publicity Secretary:

"Wayne B. Wheeler controlled six congresses, dictated to two presidents of the United States, directed legislation in most of the States of the Union, picked the candidates for the more important elective state and federal offices, held the balance of power in both Republican and Democratic parties, distributed more patronage than any dozen other men, supervised a federal bureau from outside without official authority, and was recognized by friend and foe alike as the most masterful and powerful single individual in the United States."

He often bragged about the many deceptions he used in promoting Prohibition (Steuart). By 1926, he was being criticized by members of Congress who were questioning the League’s spending in some congressional races. He retired shortly thereafter and died in 1927.

Further reading

• Childs, Randolph W. Making Repeal Work. Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania Alcoholic Beverage Study, Inc., 1947.
• Hanson, David. Wayne Bidwell Wheeler. In: Garraty, John A. and Cames, Mark C. (eds.) American National Biography. N.Y.: Praeger, 1999, vol. 23, pp. 144–145.
• Hanson, David J. Preventing Alcohol Abuse. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995.
• Hogan, Charles Marshall. Wayne Wheeler: Single Issue Exponent. Cincinnati, OH: University of Cincinnati, 1986.
• Okrent, Daniel
  Daniel Okrent
  Daniel Okrent is an American writer and editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of The New York Times newspaper, for inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books, most recently Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.-Education and...
  
  . Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition New York: Scribner, 2010.
• Okrent, Daniel. Wayne B. Wheeler: The Man Who Turned Off the Taps. Smithsonian Magazine, May 2010 Retrieved 2010-07-13.
• Steuart, Justin. Wayne Wheeler, Dry Boss: An Uncensored Biography of Wayne B. Wheeler. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1928.
• Wheeler, Wayne. How to Enforce National Prohibition. Westerville, OH: American Issue Publishing Co., 1927.
• Wheeler, Wayne B. Rum Rebellions: Past and Present. Westerville, OH: American Issue Publishing Co., n.d.
• Wheeler, Wayne Bidwell. Is Prohibition a Success after Five Years? Westerville, OH: American Issue Publishing Co., 1925. Note: The American Issue Publishing Company was the publishing house owned by the Anti-Saloon League.

External links

• Wayne Wheeler (Westerville Public Library)
• Ancestry of Wayne Bidwell Wheeler
• Wayne B. Wheeler: The Man Who Turned off the Taps, by Daniel Okrent in Smithsonian Magazine.