The World League Against Alcoholism was organized by 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...

, whose goal became establishing 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...

 not only in the United States but throughout the entire world.

As ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment

Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...

 creating prohibition in the U.S. neared, Anti-Saloon leader Ernest Cherrington

Ernest Cherrington

Ernest Cherrington was a leading temperance journalist . He became active in the Anti-Saloon League and was appointed editor of the organization's publishing house, the American Issue Publishing Company. He edited and contributed to the writing of The Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem,...

 promoted creation of the World League Against Alcoholism. Created in 1919, the new organization cooperated with temperance groups in over 50 countries on six continents. It provided assistance including speakers and educational materials to advance an international temperance movement

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...

.

Just as the Anti-Saloon League opposed not only saloons but any consumption of alcohol, the World League Against Alcoholism not only sought to prevent alcoholism but any consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Following the repeal of prohibition

Repeal of Prohibition

The Repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.-Background:...

in 1933, the Anti-Saloon League's fortunes fell dramatically and it found itself unable to continue supporting the World League Against Alcoholism.

Sources

• Cherrington, Ernest. America and the World Liquor Problem. Westerville, OH: American Issue Publishing Co., 1922.
• Odegard, Peter H. Pressure Politics: The Story of the Anti-Saloon League. NY: Columbia University Press, 1928.
• Westerville (Ohio) Public Library. Leaders: Ernest Cherrington. Westerville Public Library website.