Overview

The Portland Rum Riot, also called the Maine Law Riot, was a brief but violent period of civil unrest that occurred in Portland, Maine on June 2, 1855 in response to the Maine law which prohibited the sale and manufacture of alcohol in the state the year before.

he Maine law of 1851 outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the state of Maine, except for medicinal and mechanical purposes. Rumors began to spread that Portland Mayor Neal S. Dow, (1804-1897), an outspoken prohibitionist also known as the "Napoleon of Temperance", was keeping a large supply of alcohol in the city. In a riot one person was killed a several wounded.

References

• Portland Rum Riot - wikipedia