Prohibition Dbq Research Paper

Although intended to improve U.S. society, Prohibition actually corrupted society with higher crime and negative impact within families. Prohibition officially started with ratification of the 18th amendment on January 16, 1920 when it banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic drinks (clarified by the Volstead Act which defined alcoholic drinks as any beverage that was more than .5% alcohol by volume). Prohibition eventually ended 13 years later in 1933. Prohibition was known as the “noble experiment.” Organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union thought that banning alcohol would reduce drunkenness, crime and poverty. The Volstead Act stated “any item designed to manufacture alcohol was illegal” and set
specific fines and jail sentences for violations. But organized crime used Prohibition as an opportunity to make a lot of money by illegally manufacturing and distributing alcohol. Gangsters created an alternative industry by making and selling illegal drinks. Prohibition corrupted our society because crime actually increased and there were many family issues that went along with it. Prohibition corrupted our society because crime increased.
Doc F reflects crime data related to homicides that show steady increases throughout the period of Prohibition. In fact, the data indicates a 45% increase from 1920 to 1933! To make this worse, the intended benefit of reducing alcohol consumption was not even being achieved. Data reflected in Doc E shows that by 1923 alcohol consumption was already higher than what it was in 1918, two years before the constitutional amendment was ratified. Doc E shows consumption continued to grow throughout the period of Prohibition. A lot of normal jobs were shut down during the time of prohibition and new jobs related to the illegal activity surrounding the manufacture and distribution of alcohol were created. Doc B, an excerpt from “The Rumrunners, a prohibition scrapbook” makes the case that Prohibition was a great success for “the bootleggers, the rumrunners and gangsters, the roadhouse proprietors, the police, the magistrates, the spotters, the boaters and armies of others.” All these new jobs were illegal which increased crime in many areas. Prohibition failed to reduce consumption, created a lot of illegal jobs and led to an increase in
homicides.
The 18th amendment stated people were not allowed to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol, but it did not say anything about drinking being illegal. So the demand for alcohol was still there. Prohibition had the effect of moving the majority of drinking from bars into the homes of normal people. By doing this, Prohibition further corrupted our society by creating many family issues. Many men exposed drinking to their children while in their homes and would drink too much while at home. Doc C is a letter from Mrs. Hillyer to the Bureau of Prohibition. It says her husband would buy a quart of whiskey every other day from a chinese bootlegger named Chin Maugh while the family needed the money for household expenses. She was asking the bureau to raid the bootlegger’s home to stop her husband from spending their money on alcohol. Doc D shows how Prohibition was changing the nature of the family. It includes a poem that shows how each member of the family was doing something related to making alcohol in their home. The home life of many families was greatly impacted in a negative way by Prohibition.
Although intended to reduce drunkenness, crime and poverty, the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution actually had the exact opposite effect. Prohibition corrupted our society because it sharply increased crime and caused many issues within American families. An entire new illegal industry related to manufacturing and distributing alcohol was created, including payments to police and judges to overlook the illegal activity. Thousands of people died from homicides related to Prohibition in each of the 13 years it was in place and alcohol consumption was not reduced. People thought that Prohibition was very much needed before the 1920’s, but after 13 years it was clear the “noble experiment” failed. The 21st amendment to the U.S. constitution was ratified on December 5, 1933 which repealed the 18th amendment. That is the only time in our history a constitutional amendment was ever repealed.