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“We Want Beer!”
A cast of thousands march to protest prohibition
During the height of the Great Depression, getting 100,000 people hyped up about anything aside from finding work was a daunting task. Jobs were scarce, money was tight, and morale was low. Everything pretty much sucked.
But there was one thing that could drive the masses to the streets of New York City in the thousands — Beer.
On May 14, 1932, New York City Mayor and consummate showman Jimmy Walker led a Beer for Taxation march, which popularly became known as the “We Want Beer!” parade through the city’s streets. “The parade will furnish the best count of noses I can think of, much better than the passing of resolutions, or the writing of letters to Representatives in Congress,” Walker explained to the New York Times. An estimated 100,000 people turned out to show their love for beer and distaste for the 18th amendment.
When Congressman Emanuel Celler heard about the event, he said he’d come and bring a bunch of friends. Celler said you’d be able to pick him out in the crowd by the two signs he’d be holding: “Never Say Dry” and “Open the Spigots and Drown the Bigots.”
The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Grand Army of the Republic (a group of Civil War veterans) turned out to march in the parade. Students and…