Talk:Pauline Sabin

Correct source
When I started the article on Pauline Sabin on 8-10-05, I used Repeal of Prohibition in the U.S. as the source rather than National Prohibition of Alcohol in the U.S..David Justin 19:42, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Source
Hi Wham- When I started the article on Pauline Sabin on 8-10-05, I used Repeal of Prohibition in the U.S. as the source rather than National Prohibition of Alcohol in the U.S. Thanks.[[User:David Justin|David Justin] 17:00, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Source information
Hi Wham- Please note that this Wikipedia entry was started on 8-10-05, using “Repeal Of Prohibition in the U.S.” as the source. The material in bold is from that source.David Justin 15:03, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Pauline Sabin (1887-1955) founded the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform in 1929 in Chicago, convinced that  prohibition  was causing widespread crime, political corruption, increased   binge drinking , and many other social problems. She was recognized for her work promoting the repeal of prohibition by being featured on the cover of Time magazine on July 18 1932.

See also
 * Repeal organizations

Sources
 * Kyvig, David E. Pauline Sabin. Dictionary of American Biography (Supplement  5, volume 5) Chicago: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Thompson  Gale, 1977.

Revision
The Wikipedia article on Pauline Sabin is roughly dependable. The information is accurate, gives us an overview of her life, and is well referenced with footnotes. Although it’s dependable, the article is lacking information compared to the text, “Sabine Pauline” written by Marilyn Elizabeth Perry. Chapter 7 of Dry Manhattan by Michael A. Lerner also provides more information. The chapter, I represent the Woman of America is in the book Dry Manhattan which is about Prohibition in New York City. The article by Marilyn Elizabeth Perry is published in the American National Biography. The Wikipedia article is lacking detail and it is also not well organized. Therefore, Marilyn Perry’s article and Chapter 7 of Dry Manhattan are considered to be more adequate.

To begin with, Perry’s article gives us more information about Pauline’s life, beginning with her early life. The Wikipedia page lacks important information that would benefit the reader. For example, Pauline’s education included private schooling in Chicago and in Washington D.C before she made her debut into society. She also explains how Pauline inherited several millions of dollars after her father died which shows how she has been fortunate all her life, without these opportunities from her family she wouldn’t have been able to rise to the top and become a leader. Perry also states that Pauline owned an interior decorating business before going into Politics. Later on in life after the repeal she became the consultant on the White House interior decoration for President Harry Truman, without knowledge of this information the reader would be confused as to how she got this job.

Perry also gives more information about her strongest years, when she was very active in Politics. The Wikipedia article only gives information about her commitment to prohibition. Perry shows that Pauline was a motivated woman, although her husband Charles was a Democrat, she remained loyal to her upbringing. In Dry Manhattan it states how Pauline’s family was also very active in politics, which is what initially sparked her interest. Michael also provided us with background of her family’s role in politics. Perry explains how she became the first member of the Suffolk County Republican Committee and a year later she joined the Republican party’s state executive committee. She also provides information about Pauline finding the Women’s National Republican Club. Pauline had always been involved in organization’s, she had always been a leader. Giving the reader information about these years in her early life explains how Pauline eventually became head of Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform, which was a highly recognized committee.

Perry also gives more information about Pauline’s development and success during Prohibition. Although the Wikipedia article states information about the WONPR, it doesn’t emphasize how big of an accomplishment it was. Perry names some of the women in this organization, this is important because it provides further details on the women involved. She states how they received publicity and how the organization had 1.5 million members, which was at least triple of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was the first organization devoted to social reform based on religious strategies. Michael gives us a better understanding as to what everyone thought about the WONPR, they were more charming than the WCTU. He also made comparisons between the WCTU and the WONPR. He states what made them different and more appealing. He also articulates how Pauline was looked at as an icon by making woman see that they didn’t have to support Prohibition. Perry states how the WONPR tried to move their campaign to the South to gain southern support. Which is where she gained immense appreciation and was the subject of the social page of the Atlanta Constitution. In 1932, Pauline’s picture appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Providing these facts gives a further understanding of Pauline’s triumph with WONPR. Both authors provide the reader with necessary information about the WONPR and Pauline as a person.

Perry goes into great detail about what Pauline did with her life after the repeal of Prohibition. She states how she goes back to Republican politics and she joined the American Liberty League. She campaigned for two mayors. She was a widow in 1933 and got married again in 1936, later on she became director of Volunteer Special Services for the American Red Cross. Pauline helped raise the number of families aided to more than 4 million, she then resigned and became a consultant on the White House interior decoration renovation, she then died in Washington D.C in December,1955. This is important because the Wikipedia page just simply states whom she marries and when she died. The article made it seem as if she did nothing with her life after the repeal.

Other than all the information that was left out in certain areas, the article could also be improved by the use of better footnotes and external links. The article also lacks scholarly sources, there are only two websites where they gathered their information from and they aren’t reliable. One website (http://www.hamptons.com) is an article that just states facts about Pauline’s home in the Hamptons and little information about her life. This website doesn’t add information that will benefit the reader. This further justifies why the other article and chapter is more dependable.

The “talk” page on the Wikipedia article, states some of the problems that people found in the article. David Justin posted on March 2007, stating that some of sources are wrong having to do with Prohibition. Since 2007 it seems like the article has been improved. On the “view history” tab you can check all the revisions that have been made and when. From the revision history tab you can see that the Wikipedia page has had a lot of grammatical errors and you can see that they have been corrected recently.

In addition, the Wikipedia article isn’t well organized. For example at the beginning it gives the readers a preview of her life, when she was born and how she was involved in the prohibition movement but throws in how she was in “Time” magazine. After this it goes into her background, this should be changed to her early life and it should provide information about where she was born and go into her life as an adult. A section about her background should still be in the article, it should summarize what Pauline did with her life and why she was important.

Having knowledge about the author helps further validate which article is more reliable. The Wikipedia article doesn’t have an actual author; anyone on the web can edit the article with out any knowledge of the topic/person. Marilyn Elizabeth Perry is the author of the American National Biography. Michael A Lerner is the author of Dry Manhattan. Both authors are historians, which makes more inclined to rely less on the Wikipedia article.

Tattianalamas (talk) 04:18, 6 November 2013 (UTC)TattianaLamasTattianalamas (talk) 04:18, 6 November 2013 (UTC)