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 * Prohibition of the 1920s**

__Causes and Reasons for Prohibition__

Prohibition was a ban on the sale, production (making), consumption (drinking), and transportation (moving) of alcohol. Leading up to the ban on alcohol in the early 1900s, many states had already made it illegal. Supporters of Prohibition were called drys (people/places that did not want alcohol- people who supported prohibition) included many women who were worried about alcohol's link to wife beating and child abuse (when men drank, they would go home and abuse their families). Businessmen thought alcoholics worked slower and would hurt the business by being late to work and off task. Drys argued that outlawing drinking would eliminate (get rid of) corruption, families would grow closer, urban ghettos would disappear and so would violence in America. Another argument for banning alcohol was to help our troops and the war effort. If our nation stopped the production (making) of alcohol, it would save grain which should be used to make bread for our troops.

At midnight, January 16, 1920, the United States went dry; places that sold and made alcohol closed their doors. The 18th amendment (which had been passed in 1917) took three years to go into effect and alcohol was illegal!



__Life during Prohibition__

While it was illegal to have alcohol, that did not stop Americans from drinking, and there were many loopholes (opportunities in the law) that allowed them to do so. While many Americans were drys and wanted prohibition, there were a lot of "wets" in our nation (people/places against prohibition and who wanted alcohol). Some Americans were still permitted to have alcohol for "medical purposes" and the production of small amounts was allowed for home use. This started a new job-bootlegging. Bootleggers were people who made alcohol illegally or smuggled it into the country from Canada or the Caribbean. Bootleggers often made alcohol at home (called bathtub gin or moonshine) and would sell it to illegal clubs to make money. Because of the high demand for alcohol, bootlegging became a competitive industry taken over by gangs, like those led by Al Capone.

Another loophole was that the 18th amendment did not outlaw "near beer" which is regular beer without the alcohol. The trick was that in order to make near beer, you needed to brew real beer and then have the alcohol removed, so many breweries insisted their product was scheduled to have the alcohol removed. Soon, illegal bars (called speakeasies), were popping up everywhere. These speakeasies were popular places to secretly break the law, listen to jazz and dance new scandalous dances, eat good food, and socialize- the perfect climate for the rule breaking flapper who often carried a hip flask full of some bootlegged alcohol.



__End of Prohibition__ While the purpose of prohibition was to decrease crime, in reality Prohibition had the opposite effect in many ways. While the number of drinkers may have decreased, the strength of the drinks increased. Because alcoholic production was illegal, there could be no regulation (control). Desperate individuals and greedy bootleggers made anything imaginable (in their basements or bathtubs)- often with disastrous results. Some alcohol sold during the era of prohibition caused nerve damage, blindness, and even death.

Another reason prohibition was not successful was because police responsible for raiding speakeasies and arresting gangsters, were not qualified and underpaid leading to a high rate of bribery. It was basically impossible to enforce prohibition when it was so unpopular with the people.

Additionally, the Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression started changing people's opinion. People needed jobs. The government needed money. Making alcohol legal again would open up many new jobs for citizens and additional sales taxes for the government.

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified (passed). The 21st Amendment repealed (reversed) the 18th Amendment, making alcohol once again legal. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.



Works Cited: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=441

http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/p/prohibition.htm