American Prohibition In The 1920s
Humans have consumed alcohol since the beginning of written history, and this history had not been forgotten in modern day society. People study history for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is so that humans can learn from the mistakes that people have made in the past, especially mistakes that affect entire societies. Scholars and politicians use history to make better and more educated decisions on policies and laws that affect today’s society. One of these mistakes that is intensely studied and compared to modern day issues is American prohibition in the 1920s. Prohibition in the United States was clearly a big mistake looking back on it, but at the time, it seemed like a very logical answer to the problem. It seemed like the only
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answer at the time even though it clearly was not. Prohibition was created because people in the United States wanted it, and in the end, prohibition was ended because the people wanted it to end (Burns). Alcohol is one of th e most dangerous drugs in the world, if not the most dangerous. Preventing alcohol consumption through prohibition clearly does not work because of XYZ, but the public needs to be made aware of the dangers of alcohol and have laws that equally enforce the repercussions of mistakes caused by alcohol. Alcohol did not go away during prohibition just because it was made illegal. People still found a way to access the substance and get drunk. People still became alcoholics, and drunk drivers were still a serious problem. Drunks still beat their children and killed others. Drunks were still arrested, and some of these issues even became worse with prohibition. The number of arrests nearly doubled in Philadelphia from 1920 to 1925 (priceonomics article). People drinking in secrecy led to less regulation on the amount and consistency of how they consumed alcohol. When people drink alcohol to get drunk, they do it because it is mind altering and changes the way they feel. Some drinkers were forced to switch to prescription medicines and even opium which could have been avoided if alcohol had remained legal (pick an article). Alcohol was too big a part of American society to just be taken away by a law. Prohibition in the United States created a culture of criminality in the 1920s. This culture consisted of actual criminals becoming more powerful than government officials and regular citizens becoming criminals as well. The definition of a criminal is one who has committed a crime, so anyone who decided to drink during prohibition was technically a criminal. Prohibition forced people to push alcohol consumption underground, and instead of people drinking legally, prohibition led them start drinking illegally instead of stop drinking. The per capita consumption did significantly decrease a year after prohibition started, but by 1923, it was already back to pre-prohibition levels, so clearly prohibition did not prevent people from drinking (third link). Before prohibition, drinking was a common occurrence, and alcohol is an addictive substance. Laws do not take away addictions and cravings. Prohibition created a new type of drinking. It made drinking much more exciting, and it united the social classes and races as the majority of people that wanted to drink would have to do so in a speakeasy, secret places where alcohol was served. The people that were drinking knew it was illegal, but everyone seemed to be doing it, which really weakened obedience and overall respect for the law. The fact that everybody was still drinking created an atmosphere of tolerated crime.
The production of alcohol was forced to go underground as well. This is where some very serious problems where derived due to prohibition. There was still a very high demand for alcohol, so a steep increase in illegal alcohol bootlegging soon followed in 1920. Liquor bootlegging became a very profitable business in the United States when prohibition began, and this bootlegging ultimately led to the prominence of the Mafia in America. Prominent Mafia figures such as Al Capone and Frankie Yale soon took over cities with their illegal bootlegging business. The Mafia paid police officers and politicians to look the other way when it came to their alcohol business, and the Mafia basically took over the major cities. These criminals became more powerful than government officials, and this was all due the implementation of prohibition. Not only did the arrest rates significantly increase, but the homicide rates in the United States nearly doubled during prohibition (priceonomics article). This on top of the fact that prohibition took millions of dollars away from the government from loss of taxon alcohol and the thousands of jobs in the alcohol industry that were lost, prohibition clearly was did not work for the United States. People are either for or against prohibition.
Those who are against prohibition believe that every person should have the right to indulge in alcohol if they decide to. This group believes it is their constitutional right to eat and drink what and however much they please, and these people tend to enjoy alcohol themselves. On the other hand, people that are in favor of prohibition focus on the dangerous effects of drinking, mostly excessive drinking. Excessive drinking can destroy lives and cause death and misery. There are many negative effects that come with alcohol abuse such as addiction and suffering, but prohibition, as history has proven, is not the answer to fix these serious problems. History has exemplified how liquor and alcohol bans are ineffective and even counterproductive, especially as seen during the prohibition era in the United States. Alcohol just plays too big of a role in society. It creates a tremendous amount of money for the governments and thousands of jobs for people all over the world. It is a part of peoples’ religious traditions and an escape route from the hardships of life for others. United States prohibition has not been the only failed attempt of an alcohol prohibition. Prohibition can be seen and studied in societies all across the world. A very creative form of alcohol prohibition was the Bratt System that was created in Sweden and established in 1922. The Bratt System gave every Swedish citizen a booklet that would have to get stamped every time one purchased alcohol. Each citizen could purchase a certain amount of alcohol per month and no more (120). This was a very clever and new form of prohibition that seemed to work well at first, but liquor desperate and clever Swedish citizens soon found out a way to beat the system. Obviously not everybody in Sweden drinks, so people started using their friends and family members books which ultimately led to the demise of this system. People find a way to get the alcohol they
desire, whether it is legal or illegal. Alcohol is a very dangerous drug, but it is much more than just a drug. It is a depressant and can harm the body with continuous use; however, alcohol is very much a part of modern day culture in the United States. It has been this way for a long time as well. At the end of the nineteenth century, the number of saloons equaled the number of grocery stores in Chicago (75). Alcohol can be seen consistently in almost every genre of music that people listen to today and all over the modern media from television to every form of social media. The United States is largely a drinking society because of this culture. People use alcohol as a lubricant for social events and even when doing business, and federal and state governments make a tremendous amount of money off alcohol from sizable taxes, fines, tickets, arrests, and even rehabilitation. Even though alcohol is pervasive in American society, people can still use alcohol responsibly. People can drink alcohol without getting drunk and making stupid and bad choices.
This is much easier said than done, but the best way to accomplish this is to educate people on the dangers of alcohol and the safest way to consume the substance. An outright ban on alcohol clearly does not prove to be effective, but there is always the method of letting people figure out alcohol and their limits by themselves. This sink or swim method clearly does not work as can be seen by looking back at what happened to Native Americans when they were introduced to alcohol by settlers. Native Americans had no prior contact or knowledge of alcohol until the substance was thrown upon them by settlers. These Native Americans had no instruction on how to drink and were not warned of the dangers that came with alcohol. It was recorded that Native Americans became dangerously drunk and even more violent. There was one observed case where a single Native American became so drunk that we just walked out into a field and sat down because he did not know what was happening to him and his body (167). This method is the opposite of prohibition, and history has proven it just as ineffective.
An outright ban of alcohol does not work as history has proven, and letting people figure out alcohol for themselves clearly is just as inefficient. Countries around the world are still trying to figure out this alcohol problem, and some are even attempting complete prohibition. India is a perfect example of this. Gujrat, Nagaland, and Mizoram are three states in India that are currently dry. Kerala, another state in India, is facing its own issues with prohibition right now. The country of Kerala was having serious problem with alcohol. Kerala had the highest alcohol consumption per capita in the entire country. This state first attempted to ban all consumption of liquor which proved impossible with their economy. The majority of their tax revenue came from the tax on liquor sales. Also, Kerala is an extremely popular tourist destination, and their tourist economy took a serious hit as less people wanted to take a vacation to somewhere where they could not drink the alcohol of their choice. They soon realized this was not feasible with their economy, so they have already made an amendment to this law, allowing the consumption of liquor legal at all five-star hotels (first article). Kerala is still facing problems due to the lack of revenue from the loss of their liquor tax. Alcohol is just such an integral part of economies all over the world that prohibition is just not a realistic option.
Prohibition covers much more than just alcohol. Marijuana has been a very hot topic of debate in politics in the United States for the past decade. Marijuana is illegal in the majority of states, and drugs such as cocaine, crack, opium, and heroine are illegal in all states. There ae very strict repercussions for getting caught with these drugs where they are illegal, yet people still find a way to use them.
There is not a very clear answer on how to solve the problem of alcohol abuse in today’s society. It is a very prevalent problem, but there has not been much progress in solving this issue as most attempts have been proven futile. Per capita consumption of alcohol has over doubled since the end of prohibition ( ). The most reasonable and best solution would be to educate people of the dangers of alcohol where it is most important. This would be in high schools and universities where most people learn to drink. If they had proper guidance and knowledge about alcohol, they might just be a little safer around the substance. This is much easier said than done though. Yes, there are already programs in place that attempt to do this, but do not seem to be making the biggest impact. If people realized what alcohol has the potential to do to them and those around them, they might change their attitudes toward this hated, yet loved substance.
answer at the time even though it clearly was not. Prohibition was created because people in the United States wanted it, and in the end, prohibition was ended because the people wanted it to end (Burns). Alcohol is one of th e most dangerous drugs in the world, if not the most dangerous. Preventing alcohol consumption through prohibition clearly does not work because of XYZ, but the public needs to be made aware of the dangers of alcohol and have laws that equally enforce the repercussions of mistakes caused by alcohol. Alcohol did not go away during prohibition just because it was made illegal. People still found a way to access the substance and get drunk. People still became alcoholics, and drunk drivers were still a serious problem. Drunks still beat their children and killed others. Drunks were still arrested, and some of these issues even became worse with prohibition. The number of arrests nearly doubled in Philadelphia from 1920 to 1925 (priceonomics article). People drinking in secrecy led to less regulation on the amount and consistency of how they consumed alcohol. When people drink alcohol to get drunk, they do it because it is mind altering and changes the way they feel. Some drinkers were forced to switch to prescription medicines and even opium which could have been avoided if alcohol had remained legal (pick an article). Alcohol was too big a part of American society to just be taken away by a law. Prohibition in the United States created a culture of criminality in the 1920s. This culture consisted of actual criminals becoming more powerful than government officials and regular citizens becoming criminals as well. The definition of a criminal is one who has committed a crime, so anyone who decided to drink during prohibition was technically a criminal. Prohibition forced people to push alcohol consumption underground, and instead of people drinking legally, prohibition led them start drinking illegally instead of stop drinking. The per capita consumption did significantly decrease a year after prohibition started, but by 1923, it was already back to pre-prohibition levels, so clearly prohibition did not prevent people from drinking (third link). Before prohibition, drinking was a common occurrence, and alcohol is an addictive substance. Laws do not take away addictions and cravings. Prohibition created a new type of drinking. It made drinking much more exciting, and it united the social classes and races as the majority of people that wanted to drink would have to do so in a speakeasy, secret places where alcohol was served. The people that were drinking knew it was illegal, but everyone seemed to be doing it, which really weakened obedience and overall respect for the law. The fact that everybody was still drinking created an atmosphere of tolerated crime.
The production of alcohol was forced to go underground as well. This is where some very serious problems where derived due to prohibition. There was still a very high demand for alcohol, so a steep increase in illegal alcohol bootlegging soon followed in 1920. Liquor bootlegging became a very profitable business in the United States when prohibition began, and this bootlegging ultimately led to the prominence of the Mafia in America. Prominent Mafia figures such as Al Capone and Frankie Yale soon took over cities with their illegal bootlegging business. The Mafia paid police officers and politicians to look the other way when it came to their alcohol business, and the Mafia basically took over the major cities. These criminals became more powerful than government officials, and this was all due the implementation of prohibition. Not only did the arrest rates significantly increase, but the homicide rates in the United States nearly doubled during prohibition (priceonomics article). This on top of the fact that prohibition took millions of dollars away from the government from loss of taxon alcohol and the thousands of jobs in the alcohol industry that were lost, prohibition clearly was did not work for the United States. People are either for or against prohibition.
Those who are against prohibition believe that every person should have the right to indulge in alcohol if they decide to. This group believes it is their constitutional right to eat and drink what and however much they please, and these people tend to enjoy alcohol themselves. On the other hand, people that are in favor of prohibition focus on the dangerous effects of drinking, mostly excessive drinking. Excessive drinking can destroy lives and cause death and misery. There are many negative effects that come with alcohol abuse such as addiction and suffering, but prohibition, as history has proven, is not the answer to fix these serious problems. History has exemplified how liquor and alcohol bans are ineffective and even counterproductive, especially as seen during the prohibition era in the United States. Alcohol just plays too big of a role in society. It creates a tremendous amount of money for the governments and thousands of jobs for people all over the world. It is a part of peoples’ religious traditions and an escape route from the hardships of life for others. United States prohibition has not been the only failed attempt of an alcohol prohibition. Prohibition can be seen and studied in societies all across the world. A very creative form of alcohol prohibition was the Bratt System that was created in Sweden and established in 1922. The Bratt System gave every Swedish citizen a booklet that would have to get stamped every time one purchased alcohol. Each citizen could purchase a certain amount of alcohol per month and no more (120). This was a very clever and new form of prohibition that seemed to work well at first, but liquor desperate and clever Swedish citizens soon found out a way to beat the system. Obviously not everybody in Sweden drinks, so people started using their friends and family members books which ultimately led to the demise of this system. People find a way to get the alcohol they
desire, whether it is legal or illegal. Alcohol is a very dangerous drug, but it is much more than just a drug. It is a depressant and can harm the body with continuous use; however, alcohol is very much a part of modern day culture in the United States. It has been this way for a long time as well. At the end of the nineteenth century, the number of saloons equaled the number of grocery stores in Chicago (75). Alcohol can be seen consistently in almost every genre of music that people listen to today and all over the modern media from television to every form of social media. The United States is largely a drinking society because of this culture. People use alcohol as a lubricant for social events and even when doing business, and federal and state governments make a tremendous amount of money off alcohol from sizable taxes, fines, tickets, arrests, and even rehabilitation. Even though alcohol is pervasive in American society, people can still use alcohol responsibly. People can drink alcohol without getting drunk and making stupid and bad choices.
This is much easier said than done, but the best way to accomplish this is to educate people on the dangers of alcohol and the safest way to consume the substance. An outright ban on alcohol clearly does not prove to be effective, but there is always the method of letting people figure out alcohol and their limits by themselves. This sink or swim method clearly does not work as can be seen by looking back at what happened to Native Americans when they were introduced to alcohol by settlers. Native Americans had no prior contact or knowledge of alcohol until the substance was thrown upon them by settlers. These Native Americans had no instruction on how to drink and were not warned of the dangers that came with alcohol. It was recorded that Native Americans became dangerously drunk and even more violent. There was one observed case where a single Native American became so drunk that we just walked out into a field and sat down because he did not know what was happening to him and his body (167). This method is the opposite of prohibition, and history has proven it just as ineffective.
An outright ban of alcohol does not work as history has proven, and letting people figure out alcohol for themselves clearly is just as inefficient. Countries around the world are still trying to figure out this alcohol problem, and some are even attempting complete prohibition. India is a perfect example of this. Gujrat, Nagaland, and Mizoram are three states in India that are currently dry. Kerala, another state in India, is facing its own issues with prohibition right now. The country of Kerala was having serious problem with alcohol. Kerala had the highest alcohol consumption per capita in the entire country. This state first attempted to ban all consumption of liquor which proved impossible with their economy. The majority of their tax revenue came from the tax on liquor sales. Also, Kerala is an extremely popular tourist destination, and their tourist economy took a serious hit as less people wanted to take a vacation to somewhere where they could not drink the alcohol of their choice. They soon realized this was not feasible with their economy, so they have already made an amendment to this law, allowing the consumption of liquor legal at all five-star hotels (first article). Kerala is still facing problems due to the lack of revenue from the loss of their liquor tax. Alcohol is just such an integral part of economies all over the world that prohibition is just not a realistic option.
Prohibition covers much more than just alcohol. Marijuana has been a very hot topic of debate in politics in the United States for the past decade. Marijuana is illegal in the majority of states, and drugs such as cocaine, crack, opium, and heroine are illegal in all states. There ae very strict repercussions for getting caught with these drugs where they are illegal, yet people still find a way to use them.
There is not a very clear answer on how to solve the problem of alcohol abuse in today’s society. It is a very prevalent problem, but there has not been much progress in solving this issue as most attempts have been proven futile. Per capita consumption of alcohol has over doubled since the end of prohibition ( ). The most reasonable and best solution would be to educate people of the dangers of alcohol where it is most important. This would be in high schools and universities where most people learn to drink. If they had proper guidance and knowledge about alcohol, they might just be a little safer around the substance. This is much easier said than done though. Yes, there are already programs in place that attempt to do this, but do not seem to be making the biggest impact. If people realized what alcohol has the potential to do to them and those around them, they might change their attitudes toward this hated, yet loved substance.