Woodrow wilson suported temperance but vetoed the Volstead Act?

Question

What??? So was he for or against Prohibition?

Answer 1

One of the consequences of the National Prohibition Act was the development of gangsterism and crime. Enforcement of prohibition was a difficult task and a growth in illegal drinking places took place. People called moonshiners distilled alcohol illegally. Bootleggers sold the alcohol and also imported it from abroad. The increase in criminal behaviour caused public opinion to turn against prohibition. In 1933 prohibition was repealed by the adoption of the 21st Amendment.

Most likely he figured that he had to stop prohibition because it made society worse than it was before it started. He was proabably forced into going against what he believed in. In other words, he believed in Prohibition, but it wasn't working so he had to fix it.

Answer 2

I think the first answer is referring to FDR instead of Wilson (not quite right any way).

There is a difference between supporting responsible behavior and wanting to reduce the negative impact of drugs/alcohol and government control over personal choices.

At the beginning of the 20th century, alcohol abuse was rampant in the lower economic classes. Workers would spend the majority of their pay in saloons, resulting in their continued poverty and malnutrition in their children. It was desirable to curb this negative behavior. Wilson supported changing the societal structures that supported and encouraged irresponsible drinking. He didn't believe that the government, particularly the Federal Government, had the authority to regulate a person's choices, nor the ability to enforce such regulations.

In other words, he thought that drinking was wrong and Prohibition was wrong.