Neal
Dow, the son of a tanner, was born in Portland, Maine, in 1804. He
was brought up a Quaker and was taught to avoid alcohol. As an adult
he joined the temperance movement.
A
successful businessman, Dow established the Young Men's Abstinence
Society in Portland. He also led the campaign that resulted in Maine
passing the nation's first prohibition
law in 1846.
Dow served as a general in the Union Army
during
the Civil War. In 1865 he joined with
James Black in
establishing the National Temperance Society and Publishing House
and became a leading figure in the propaganda campaign in favour of
preventing people drinking alcohol.
Dow,
like most supporters of prohibition,
was a member of the Republican Party.
However, after the Civil War, the party
came under the influence of the Brewers Association of the United
States. In 1869 Dow and his friends formed the Prohibition
Party.
In
1880 Dow was chosen as the party presidential candidate. However,
he won only 10,305 votes. Neal Dow died in 1897.
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