Stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus crisis have forced many bars and nightclubs in the United States to close temporarily. A century ago, bars across the country were also forcibly closed when the Volstead Act became law. The measure made it a crime for Americans to manufacture, sell or transport alcohol. The period when the Volstead Act was the law of the land is known today as Prohibition. The push to ban alcohol in the U.S. began in the 1850s. Christian women claimed alcohol was turning men into alcoholics. Drinking leads to violence and poverty and destroys families, they said. So began the social movements against alcohol and women raiding bars to destroy bottles of whiskey. Their actions grew from being a problem for bar workers into a real political movement.