The Prohibition: Success Or Failure?

The Prohibition: Success or Failure?
Despite the polarizing effects of alcohol, many people are very reliant on alcoholic beverages in today’s society. With this dependency, it is unclear how today’s society would react if the law prohibited alcohol sales today; however, this would not be the first time this has occurred in history. As early as 1826, when Reverend Lyman Beecher preached against the evils of alcohol in Sermon 1: Nature of Occasions of Intemperance, harmonious prohibitionists began to form. Prohibitionist groups consisted of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League, and many more commonly known as the “drys” (Lerner) who all believed that the Prohibition on alcohol would lower crime rates, strengthen familial
While the government believed that the Prohibition on alcohol would boost sales of entertainment and goods, it had actually done the exact opposite. Restaurants did not make enough money without the liquor sales, and theater revenues declined. Likewise, thousands of jobs were eliminated when breweries, distilleries and saloons were all forced to close (Andrews). The unemployment rate following this, and into the Great Depression, was always a two-digit percentage. Many parents were desperate for employment to support their families, many citizens required loans from the banks, and others were dependent on the stock market in order for income. This lead to many people becoming investors themselves, and only a few were successful. This dependence on the stock market became very risky for people, but since they were desperate for some method of income, they had no other choice. In 1929, when the stock market saw its first major reverse, officially crashing, it left the country surrounded in debt and owing millions of dollars to banks. This wiped millions of investors of their money (Pettinger). As many people were indebted to banks, this lead to many problems morally, financially and emotionally, and the GDP of the country had substantially decreased as well (Florien). This is said to be the lead cause of the Great Depression. In addition to this, the banking
Before the Prohibition Era, many states throughout the country relied heavily in alcohol taxes to supply the government with the money they required. In New York, nearly 75% of the state’s revenue came solely from the taxes on alcohol. When the Prohibition came about, all of that revenue was soon lost. The Prohibition cost the already indebted federal government approximately 11 billion dollars in revenue. Not only this, but the government paid over 300 million dollars to enforce the Prohibition laws, which hardly affected citizens behavior. From this loss of tax revenue, the federal government became more and more reliant on the taxes that they were not receiving. This was one of the enduring effects that the Prohibition had caused ("Unintended Consequences"). Furthermore, taxes are used in many other ways to better the country. Taxes are spent towards transportation, education, health, law and order, housing, environment, food, culture, sports, media, and many other things. Without taxes, the government could not afford to supply the country with necessities that they required. Important repairs that were needed to better cities could not be completed ("Policy Basics: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?"). Many people fled their home in need of a better living area. Damages caused by gangsters and gangs could not always