Howard Hyde Russell

Howard Hyde Russell (1855–1946) was an American attorney and a pioneer in the temperance movement. He is best known as the founder of the Anti-Saloon League, which played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment that established Prohibition.

Early Life and Education

Russell was born in 1855 in Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa, where he studied law. After graduating, he practiced law in his home state before moving to Ohio in the late 1880s.

Career

In Ohio, Russell became involved in the temperance movement, a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. He was particularly influenced by the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). In 1893, he founded the Anti-Saloon League, an organization dedicated to the prohibition of alcohol. The League became one of the most powerful political lobbying groups in the United States, and was instrumental in the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

Legacy

Russell's work with the Anti-Saloon League left a lasting impact on American society. While the Eighteenth Amendment was later repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933, the debate over alcohol consumption and its effects on society continues to this day. Russell's efforts also paved the way for future advocacy groups and their use of political lobbying to achieve their goals.

See Also

• Temperance movement in the United States
• Prohibition in the United States
• Woman's Christian Temperance Union