Prohibition: Unintended Consequences

Caitlin White
Mr.Moore
APUSH P3
11 January 2016

Prohibition: the Unintended Consequences

January 1920: the United States has just gone dry. Years of drunken husbands beating their wives, crimes committed under alcohol's influence, and other social problems created by the drink led Prohibitionists to believe they needed to get rid of the horrible substance. Different prohibition and reform groups got together to encourage businesses to stop selling alcohol and for the people to stop drinking it. These groups spread the word until they had several states and citizens on board. They believed the more support they had, the more the act would take. Many of these groups were led by Christians who believed that alcohol was a threat to the nation’s
However, the hopes of a better more safe United States were quickly shattered by the both unexpected and unlawful events that proceeded passing the amendment. The corrupted nation this law tried to save was only going to get worse and quickly too. Those in favor of Prohibition wanted less crime; they got more. They wanted less violence; they got more. Lastly, they wanted peace; they got none. The nation was unprepared for the negative consequences that Prohibition would unleash. Although Prohibition was originally enforced to make the United States better, it actually had the opposite effect and led to an increase in crime, bootlegging, and gangsters. For many years, men would drink themselves into a state where they had no control over their actions. This drunken haze led many to beat their wives and instill fear in their children. After the Second Great Awakening, many church goers believed that it was their duty to help reform society. As a result, many reforms began to take place. During the time, women were essentially prisoners to the home and church became their only outlet to get out. As a result women filled the majority of the church’s following. Because of this, many of
Many citizens lost their contempt for the law or authority. This outrage stemmed from the nation’s frustration that an individual would now be considered a criminal for allowing himself or herself a drink on occasion. This caused many to question the judgement of the law and as a result, citizens began taking it into their own hands. The corruption was so severe that many law enforcement agents also found themselves associated with many of the illegal activities taking place after Prohibition. The Attorney General under Warren Hardig, Harry Daughetry, accepted several bribes from the very illegal bootlegging industry. Bootlegging was the illegal business of transporting of alcohol in areas where it had been prohibited. In many cases, the alcohol was homemade and very dangerous. Another instance where law enforcement did not take care or follow the law was with a very popular bootlegger named George Raymond. Raymond had several citizens on his payroll, but many of them happened to be cops and police officers. He claimed that about 50 percent of his deals had gone as bribes. Organized crime is what filled the void that alcohol once did before Prohibition. This illustrates the severity in the increase of crime as a result of prohibition. If the men who are supposed to be enforcing the law