Changes

Before the Civil War, the Christian lobby called for the abiolition of slavery. It was politically weak and the target of riidicule before the Civil War, when it suddenly became powerful and won its case. Many continues to lobby on behalf of the Freedmen during [[Reconstruction]]. After 1870 Protestant lobbyists formed working partnerships with Southern Democrats (who had a base of Protestant support), along with many Republicans who represented pietistic Protestant districts in the North. The lobbyists (and the groups they represented), pushed through Congress effective federal policies against polygamy, laws banning obscenity and prizefight films from interstate commerce and the mails, and (especially in the states) laws to restrict prostitution, sex with underage girls, and easy divorce. They tried not only to put God in the Constitution but also, through suasion and legislation, to control drinking, obesity, divorce, Sabbath observance, gambling, smoking, prize fighting, prostitution, and sex with underage girls. Most significantly, they fought for prohibition--and under professional leadership of the [[Anti -Saloon leagueLeague]], finally won. Famous leaders included [[Frances Willard]] of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wayne Wheeler of the [[Anti-Saloon League]], and antipomography campaigner [[Anthony Comstock]], whose laws against obscenity remain the law of the land. Proposed constitutional amendments regulating divorce and declaring the United States a Christian nation never reached the floor of Congress. Neither did the proposal for federal censorship of movies.<ref> Foster (2002)</ref>