Arguments Against Prohibition

Once Prohibition was enacted congress had soon become disengaged with the movement, because many Politicians were drinking despite the law. Subsequently congress never provided proper funding for any type of reinforcement for the extensive violations of the Volstead act. Even those who strongly supported prohibition were reluctant to produce or request additional funding, because revealing to the public how severe violations had become would be compromising to the cause. This weakness allowed street gangs to supply clubs, speakeasies, and private dealers such as politicians and other men in power, who no longer had a legitimate source of liquor. In order to get those establishments to sell their liquor instead of that of rival gangs, they used violence. Gangsters’ main methods of gaining control were by instilling fear into local business; once people feared them they were able to exploit them. “By the 1920s, Americans had consumed over twenty-five million gallons of illegal liquor, and bootlegging became a one billion dollars business” As the bootlegging business blossomed, street gangs became established gangsters. With their new found wealth they were able to pay off law enforcement officials. Many law enforcement officials took the bribe, because they were underpaid and overworked. Not only did gangsters have money, they now had the power of the law which made running their operations much smoother. So, the richer the gangster became, the more power they acquired and with power came powerful friends.
“Gangsters made little attempt to conceal their activities, because their links with politicians and politically appointed city officials eliminated their rivals with impunity.” The weakness of prohibition is the lack of proper funding of law enforcement and corruption throughout the government and judiciary system allowed gangster to turn prohibition into a very profitable
business.