Many progressives supported prohibition of alcoholic beverages, ostensibly to destroy the political power of local bosses based in saloons, but others out of religious motivation. Women's suffrage was promoted to bring a "purer" female vote into the arena.

Was prohibition a progressive reform?

The prohibition movement achieved initial successes at the local and state levels. It was most successful in rural southern and western states, and less successful in more urban states. ... Prohibition exhibited many of the characteristics of most progressive reforms.

Who supported the prohibition?

The Anti-Saloon League, with strong support from Protestants and other Christian denominations, spearheaded the drive for nationwide prohibition. In fact, the Anti-Saloon League was the most powerful political pressure group in US history—no other organization had ever managed to alter the nation's Constitution.