18th Amendment Research Paper

The eighteenth amendment was passed in January of 1920 by the Congress and it was a starting point of new era known as Prohibition era. The eighteenth amendment was about regulation of sale, transport, import and manufacture of liquor. Almost any type of intoxicating alcohols become illegal product in America after the eighteenth amendment. Although, President Wilson who was a president of United States during 1920s vetoed but the Congress was dominated by Republican Party. Then eventually the eighteenth amendment was passed.
Volstead Act was introduced by Andrew Volstead who was a member of House of Representatives. Peter Kizilos is a historian who wrote about Volstead Act in American History. According to Kizilos, Volstead was raised in
Alcohol was legal product until Volstead Act and alcohol became huge money maker for gangs in 1920s. Demand for alcohol was still high but smuggling was the only ways to get alcohol. Washington Post that was published in 1920s explained well about the situation and how much crime rate was increased during Prohibition. Washington Post stated, “Almost hopeless situation in Chicago.” Also, “Prohibition was blamed as the font from which murder, bribery and gang war.” It means that people in 1920s believed that gang violence was started because of Prohibition and it increased rapidly as well. Also, gangsters were so powerful to the point; they didn’t even bother to hide from law
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1899. He got his power in crime world by illegal brewing, distilling and distribution of beer and liquor in Chicago. It was considered as growing business opportunity during Prohibition era. FBI reports, “Capone had built a fearsome reputation in the ruthless gang rivalries of the period, struggling to acquire and retain “racketeering rights” to several areas of Chicago. That reputation grew as rival gangs were eliminated or nullified, and the suburb of Cicero became, in effect, a fiefdom of the Capone mob.” Also, he became a symbol of violent era of Prohibition when he committed Saint Valentine Massacre in 1929. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre on February 14, 1929, might be regarded as the culminating violence of the Chicago gang era, as seven members or associates of the “Bugs” Moran mob were machine-gunned against a garage wall by rivals posing as police. Crime like Saint Valentine Massacre was possible because jurisdiction of Bureau of Investigation was limited in Prohibition era. According to FBI, “The investigative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Investigation during the 1920s and early 1930s was more limited than it is now, and the gang warfare and depredations of the period were not within the Bureau’s investigative