Failure Of Prohibition Essay

The National Prohibition of Alcohol (1920-1933), also known as “The Noble Experiment,” is the only constitutional amendment to be repealed through another amendment, thus making it a debated topic since the mid 1900’s. Although the primary purpose of Prohibition was to reduce crime and improve the health of the United States, it ended with a result that could be considered the complete opposite. Some historians argue that it was a law that was impossible to enforce, but based on factual evidence, it is visible that the true reasons for the failure of Prohibition were rise in illegal manufacture, corruption, citizen rebellion, and organized crime.
Before Prohibition became a national amendment, there were multiple attempts at creating an alcohol-free
However, this drop only temporarily lasted, for consumption levels rose to above what they were before the instatement of the eighteenth amendment. The rise was caused by the “bootlegging of alcohol,” in which criminals were able to turn into an illicit industry. As the production and sale of alcohol went underground, it started to become controlled by the Mafia and similar gangs. These people turned themselves into “sophisticated criminal enterprises” who created tremendous profits from liquor trade. Those profits were then protected by murdering competitors and “infiltrating legitimate businesses and labor unions.” Examples of these criminals included gangsters like Al Capone and George Remus, who provided alcohol to many consumers, becoming “folk heroes.” While the majority of alcohol smuggled was professionally created, a good portion of it was homemade “moonshine.” Moonshine was dangerous because the manufacture conditions were unhygienic and caused bacteria and disease to contaminate the homemade beverage. So much that deaths from alcohol poisoning rose from ninety-eight to seven-hundred and sixty in a span of six years. Since prescription-use was not illegal under the Volstead Act, many people used this as a ticket for unlimited purchase of alcohol “for medical