Prohibition And The Prohibition Movement

On January 16 of 1920, The 18th amendment went into effect. The 18th amendment restricted the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition, as this time came to be known, did not end until December 5, 1933, when the 21st amendment was passed and ratified, ending National Prohibition. Supporters of Prohibition believed that it would help control social problems and economic problems as well. What Prohibition did was the totally opposite, Prohibition became a failure. Prohibition led to an increase in organize crime because violent criminals rose to powers, alcoholic-related crimes increased, and more politicians and police officials became corrupt.

Proponents of prohibition are quick to argue how crime technically decreased in its fourteen years before being repealed. While this is true for minor crimes of the times like mischief and vagrancy, organized crime saw a sharp increase once the Eighteenth Amendment outlawed alcoholic substances. While the Volstead Act was passed to enforce the amendment, and had an immediate amount of success, it was also attributed to an increase in the homicide rate to 10 per 100,000 population during the 1920s, a 78 percent increase over the pre-Prohibition period rate of 5.8 per 100,000.

The Prohibition Amendment took effect on January 16, 1920. The eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States until it was repealed on December 5, 1933. The excessive amount of alcohol consumed primarily by men often resulted in violence, poor work performance, and wasteful spending of wages on alcohol, which were needed to support their families. Although the Prohibition Amendment did decrease alcohol-related felonies it created more organized crime and an increase of economic problems.

During the 1920’s there was an experiment in the U.S. “The Prohibition”, this experiment, made by the government, was written as the 18th amendment. The prohibition led to the bootlegging, increase in crimes, and gang wars.

Thesis: Though the primary purpose of the Prohibition was to prevent harmful effects caused by alcohol and improve the condition of society, many unexpected adverse effects followed. Thus, when the nation legislates the law which regulates something addictive or harmful, it is necessary to be cautious and examine it carefully before executing it, for the situation can get worse and turn into catastrophe.

Prohibition, a word that defined an era. “The Eighteenth Amendment of the constitution was ratified in January 1919 and was enacted in January 1920, which outlawed the manufacturing of intoxicating beverages as well as the transportation of intoxicating liquors.” The forging of this amendment came from the culmination of decades of effort from many different organizations such as Women’s Christian Temperance Union as well as the Anti-Saloon League. When America became a dry nation on January 17, 1920, it would remain a dry nation for the next 12 years when it was finally repealed in December of 1933. This amendment being put into place caused tens of thousands of distilleries, breweries, and saloons across America to be compelled to close their doors, as America embarked on a very controversial era known as the Prohibition Era. Prohibition was being implemented on a national scale now and being enshrined in the Constitution no less. What followed was a litany of unintended consequences throughout America. Did prohibition really help America, or did prohibition trigger a landslide of problems in America?

Movements for change have existed throughout history and have different motives. The Prohibition movement in the early nineteen hundreds is started a small group of women and religious leaders. The motive for this movement is to ban the sale and consumption of alcohol. As the movement grew, the group influenced government policy in favor for their issue. Positive intentions included the removal of alcohol from medicine, to relieve addiction. On the other hand, women supported this cause to better their life, while multiple theorist believing alcohol is detrimental to politics. This movement helped inspire others and mold the roles of men and women while making progress. Prohibition is represented to be a success, since it reveals how a belief by a few can grow and have a positive intention.

Although the temperance movement was concerned with the habitual drunk, its primary goal was total abstinence and the elimination of liquor. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the well-organized and powerful political organizations, utilizing no holds barred political tactics, successfully accomplished their goal. Prohibition became the law of the land on January 16, 1920; the manufacturing, importation, and sale of alcohol was no longer legal in the United States. Through prohibition, America embarked on what became labeled “the Nobel Experiment.” However, instead of having social redeeming values as ordained, prohibition had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, becoming a catastrophic failure.

Alongside corruption and women’s efforts playing a large part in the Prohibition movement was violence alcohol consumption harbored. Alcohol led to an increased rate of domestic abuse as well as crimes such as theft, murder, and rape. The American Medical Association, at their annual meeting [Doc B] said, “[Alcohol’s] use in therapeutics, as a tonic, or a stimulant or as a food has not scientific basis… should be discouraged.” The AMA recognized that alcohol was detrimental to human behaviors and therefore should not have been consumed. This idea, one of the many, at the forefront of the prohibition movement led to the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment. Thomas D. West noted the number of dangers alcohol produces. He described his worries

The 18th amendment to the constitution prohibited alcoholic beverages being manufactured, transported and soled, this era was known as Prohibition and lasted from 1920-1930. Prohibition was meant to reduce crime and corruption and solve social problems, reducing the tax burden on people created by prisons and poorhouses. In this essay whether Prohibition was successful in reducing crime and corruption and solving social problems or was the opposite true will be discussed, and it will clearly show that not only did Prohibition fail in bettering people’s lives but it also caused more problems than before. During Prohibition the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol was illegal but as shown in Source L the alcohol industry actually flourished.

health and said that by the men going to the saloons it was a risk for

Prohibition and United States Society in 1920's Prohibition was the legal ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol. It was introduced in 1919 and was viewed as the answer to many of America's problems. It was thought that the end of alcohol in America would spark a new and greater society in America. People believed that it would reduce crime, drunkenness, violence and that it would reduce families in poverty because the men would not go out spending all the money on 'alcohol.'

“Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty,

The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors. This ushered a period in the American history. This was known as Prohibition. Prohibition was difficult to force during the first decade of the 20th century. Bootlegging is the illegal production and sale of liquor. The increase of bootlegging, speakeasies, and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition. In 1933, the Congress had adopted a resolution. They proposed a 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which would repeal the 18th Amendment. The prohibition era came to a close by the end of that year.

Prohibition created more crime because it was leading to corruption and the “cure” was worse than the original problem (Sifakis 725). The number of crimes increased during the Prohibition which caused organized crime to be very “popular”. Many criminal groups had a regular income of money through illegal actions such as drinking and selling alcohol (Organized Crime and Prohibition 1). Alcohol increased the organized crimes during Prohibition through loopholes in the 18th Amendment, speakeasies, doctor’s prescriptions, and bootlegging.