Prohibiting Prohibition: The Temperance Movement
Prohibiting Prohibition
“When I sell liquor, it’s called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it’s called hospitality. -Al Capone”
Prohibition, also known as The Temperance Movement was introduced during in the 19th century and early 20th century. Prohibition was the result of generations of work and effort by temperance workers to close down bars and taverns which caused the drunkenness and misery in an age where social welfare did not exist. Prohibition was one of the biggest mistakes made by Canada at that time. It was undertaken to reduce crime, solve problems, and improve the health hygiene of Canadians (refer to document 6 and document 7 by “The Citizen”). The result of the temperance movement was a failure on all …show more content…
Prohibition was hoped to eliminate corruption but became one of the main causes for corruption. Everyone ranging from political members to cops began taking bribes from bootleggers. This was making criminals from once law-abiding Canadian citizens. Bootleggers and other illegal dealers of liquor found prohibition as an opportunity to make money, but everybody else opposed it because many people died from drinking tainted liquor and thousands of men lost their jobs, leading to dents in the …show more content…
Prohibition clearly did not achieve its goals, instead, it added to the problems it was trying to solve. The only beneficiaries of prohibition were gangsters and people who ran bootleg operations. Once prohibition was beginning to be abolished in Canadian provinces, jobs were created, restaurant, saloon, bar, and movie theater sales dramatically rose, crime rates went down, and the Canadian economy began to do better. Once prohibition was abolished in Ontario, LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) was founded to help sell alcohol in a controlled manner. Liquor finally became something that Canadians wouldn’t get arrested for selling or manufacturing. This did not occur in the province of PEI until 1948 when prohibition was abolished there and they became “wet”. In conclusion, prohibition was very ineffective in Canada and the other countries it was enacted in and society needs to open its eyes so it will not let history repeat
“When I sell liquor, it’s called bootlegging; when my patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it’s called hospitality. -Al Capone”
Prohibition, also known as The Temperance Movement was introduced during in the 19th century and early 20th century. Prohibition was the result of generations of work and effort by temperance workers to close down bars and taverns which caused the drunkenness and misery in an age where social welfare did not exist. Prohibition was one of the biggest mistakes made by Canada at that time. It was undertaken to reduce crime, solve problems, and improve the health hygiene of Canadians (refer to document 6 and document 7 by “The Citizen”). The result of the temperance movement was a failure on all …show more content…
Prohibition was hoped to eliminate corruption but became one of the main causes for corruption. Everyone ranging from political members to cops began taking bribes from bootleggers. This was making criminals from once law-abiding Canadian citizens. Bootleggers and other illegal dealers of liquor found prohibition as an opportunity to make money, but everybody else opposed it because many people died from drinking tainted liquor and thousands of men lost their jobs, leading to dents in the …show more content…
Prohibition clearly did not achieve its goals, instead, it added to the problems it was trying to solve. The only beneficiaries of prohibition were gangsters and people who ran bootleg operations. Once prohibition was beginning to be abolished in Canadian provinces, jobs were created, restaurant, saloon, bar, and movie theater sales dramatically rose, crime rates went down, and the Canadian economy began to do better. Once prohibition was abolished in Ontario, LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) was founded to help sell alcohol in a controlled manner. Liquor finally became something that Canadians wouldn’t get arrested for selling or manufacturing. This did not occur in the province of PEI until 1948 when prohibition was abolished there and they became “wet”. In conclusion, prohibition was very ineffective in Canada and the other countries it was enacted in and society needs to open its eyes so it will not let history repeat