Prohibition of alcoholic beverages, like women's suffrage, was a very emotional issue for most Nebraskans. Some saw an evil combination of saloons and alcohol and blamed liquor for a host of society's ills. Drunken husbands spent their money on alcohol, money that would never benefit the family or community. On the other hand, there were a number of large brewery and liquor businesses in Nebraska. And several ethnic groups that accepted alcohol as part of their culture and saw prohibition as a threat to traditional values. German-Americans, for instance, made up over half of the state's foreign-born population and 23 percent of the overall population in 1910.