Neal Dow (1804-1897), was born in Portland, Maine on March 20, 1804 in a house built by his father, Josiah Dow, across the street from the present day Dow House. He grew up in a Quaker household, where he learned the values of his parents: hard work, temperance, and frugality. Dow entered his father's tanning business after graduating high school.
In his youth, Portland was a booming center for rum trade with the West Indies. Maine eagerly traded its wealth in lumber and fisheries for rum and molasses. Molasses was converted to rum in Maine distilleries, of which Portland had seven. Saloons, taverns and even some grocery stores made liquor very accessible on nearly every corner block. Dow was deeply touched as he witnessed the resulting poverty, suffering and dysfunction caused by drunkenness. With others of like mind, he first tried to use moral suasion, then legislation, to improve life conditions by the elimination of liquor traffic.
Dow is best known for drafting and advocating for the first Mane alcohol prohibition law, passed in 1851. This made the manufacture, trade and use of liquor illegal, except for medicinal purposes. The passage of this law brought calm, reconciliation to broken homes, and churches were filled to capacity. Citizens and businesses began experiencing prosperity, with the exception of the liquor trade.
Dow's role in passing the Maine Law earned him national recognition, and he became a voice for the cause of temperance. He was highly popular in the U.S. and England and was acclaimed as a distinguished orator and a man of godly Christian principles. He traveled as far east as Newfoundland and west to San Francisco and many places in between. He addressed legislatures in most of the Provinces of Canada, in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, lecturing on demon rum and abolition. Though he died in 1897, his influence lived on, and helped bring about the passage of National Prohibition in 1919.
Dow was a valued associate of many of the great men of his time, including ministers, legislators, prominent leaders and statesmen. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, celebrations were held in this country and abroad, notably in London. He died in Portland on October 2, 1897. His house has been designated a national historic landmark.
In his youth, Portland was a booming center for rum trade with the West Indies. Maine eagerly traded its wealth in lumber and fisheries for rum and molasses. Molasses was converted to rum in Maine distilleries, of which Portland had seven. Saloons, taverns and even some grocery stores made liquor very accessible on nearly every corner block. Dow was deeply touched as he witnessed the resulting poverty, suffering and dysfunction caused by drunkenness. With others of like mind, he first tried to use moral suasion, then legislation, to improve life conditions by the elimination of liquor traffic.
Dow is best known for drafting and advocating for the first Mane alcohol prohibition law, passed in 1851. This made the manufacture, trade and use of liquor illegal, except for medicinal purposes. The passage of this law brought calm, reconciliation to broken homes, and churches were filled to capacity. Citizens and businesses began experiencing prosperity, with the exception of the liquor trade.
Dow's role in passing the Maine Law earned him national recognition, and he became a voice for the cause of temperance. He was highly popular in the U.S. and England and was acclaimed as a distinguished orator and a man of godly Christian principles. He traveled as far east as Newfoundland and west to San Francisco and many places in between. He addressed legislatures in most of the Provinces of Canada, in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, lecturing on demon rum and abolition. Though he died in 1897, his influence lived on, and helped bring about the passage of National Prohibition in 1919.
Dow was a valued associate of many of the great men of his time, including ministers, legislators, prominent leaders and statesmen. On the occasion of his 90th birthday, celebrations were held in this country and abroad, notably in London. He died in Portland on October 2, 1897. His house has been designated a national historic landmark.
