Preview

Why Did Prohibition Change Its Mind

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
671 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Why Did Prohibition Change Its Mind
Prohibition: Why Did America Change Its Mind? During The 1900’s, America suffered a severe problem regarding alcoholic beverages. A majority of the population were unable to drink responsibly, therefore, had to suffer certain consequences, such as Prohibition. In 1917, twenty six states voted themselves ‘dry’, which meant that these specific states would dismiss alcohol. The ratification of the 18th Amendment banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors, a period in American history known as Prohibition. It was passed due to several reasons such as; Corruption, Domestic Abuse, Crime and unemployment had increased due to alcohol. Also, drunk and absentee workers were unacceptable, as they were seen as a nuisance in the economy. Prohibition was difficult to enforce. Bootlegging, the increase of the illegal sale of liquor, speakeasies which were illegal drinking spots, and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes meant poor support for Prohibition. I believe prohibition was repealed because of the rampant crime, bad enforcement, and a drop in the economy. The first reason Prohibition was repealed because of the crime that was rampant during this time. Bootleggers sold alcohol illegally. Even racketeers were …show more content…
If alcohol were to become legal, “... the (tax) income would pay the interest on the entire local and national (debt)...” (Document E) This would mean bootleggers would disappear off the streets and the three mile limit would be deemed unnecessary. Plus, the government would be able to tax alcohol, so they would be making money. During prohibition they claimed, “(B)efore prosperity can return to this country, the budgets of local and all national governments must be balanced.” (Document E) If they were to tax liquor, this would result in $200,000,000 for purposes that would later in our history be extremely

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In 1919, just shortly after the conclusion of the first World War, the United States government ratified the 18th amendment, which finally brought Prohibition into play. This exiled the sale, consumption, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. This came during a time when America was in a period of transition, if you will. The Allied forces had just taken down the likes of the Central Powers, bringing peace into civilization once more. A hard-fought victory led the U.S. to believe that there was a time of some relaxation coming, but they were far from that. The passing of Prohibition only meant that there was another battle to be fought, and it was going to be amongst themselves.…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One reason is due to the increase of religion during the nineteenth century and the abolishment of slavery. American was seeking to become in a sense morally perfect. Also when American entered WWI in 1917 Woodrow Wilson called for a temporary prohibition. This was done in order to save grains for food rather than the production of liquor. It would be that same year that Congress submitted the 18th Amendment. It quickly gained popularity throughout the legislative branch reaching three-quarters majority in only 11 months. The Amendment was ratified January 29, 1919 and went into effect one year later. While a national Prohibition was ratified in 1919 thirty-three states already have enacted their own statewide…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol was thought to be the source of several of the nation’s problems. Issues like domestic violence, unemployment and poverty. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union first introduced the idea of prohibition, the illegalization of the buying, selling or consumption of alcohol. Prohibition was made official in 1919 as Nebraska became the 36th state to ratify the proposal. Prohibition took effect one year later in 1920. In the beginning, prohibition had an overwhelming amount of popularity from most of the country however Americans quickly changed their mind. Prohibition ended in 1933 with the 21st amendment to the Constitution. The increase in crime across the nation, several negative financial aspects of prohibition, and the eventual increase in corruption and loss of national restriction were all factors in the nation’s sudden change of heart.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The government believed that the life of Americans would be better without alcohol, so the government tended to improve the situation by passing the 18th amendment. The goal of the prohibition was to have the men stay away from alcohol and go to work, and prevent the Americans from spending money on alcohol instead of daily supplies. However, the prohibition of alcohol seemed to have the opposite effects on American life. The spending on alcohol increased, and more and more organized crimes appeared. There were numerous bootlegging and speakeasies, which illegally sold alcohol to people. Ironically,…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    When Americans went dry during the 1920s, they didn’t know how history would be changed. America then changed its mind about Prohibition due to a rise in crime, a lack of law enforcement, and a loss of potential tax revenue.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    1920's Negative Aspects

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The initial effects of prohibition did no favor to any American. During the era of prohibition the fabrication and purchase of liquor was illegal. Alcohol was deemed illegal because of its rather unfortunate side effects. According to some people prohibition was intended to lower corruption and to reduce social and economic problems for Americans. The consumption…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prohibition was one of the main changes to society during the Roaring 20’s. Prohibition was a ban all on distribution, production and consumption of alcohol and was created in 1919. Prohibition began because of the societal issues caused by drinking. Some of these issues included parents not being able to support their family because they spent all their money on alcohol, abusive drunks and underage drinking. In Document 1 an excerpt from…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prohibition was a black eye in the history of the United States. Prohibition started in 1920 and ended in 1933. Prohibition cause more harm than good in the U.S. in the length of time that it was in effect. Prohibition was instituted with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on January 16, 1919, and went into effect in the 1920’s. Congress passed the "Volstead Act" on October 28, 1919, to enforce the law. Most big cities and most states did not like this, so much so, that they didn’t enforce this law and kept selling, buying, and drinking alcohol; in fact, most of the Police officers and government officials themselves were still consuming, buying, and selling alcohol. So really, what was the point of it? This made many criminals who took advantage of Alcohol being illegal and made huge profits.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The prohibition was a important in American history. Most Americans did not want the Prohibition to happen but most people know that In 1919, “congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , outlawing the manufacturing and sale of alcohol nationwide” (Benson). This sent people into anger and madness. A majority of Americans were in favor of alcohol and did not want to give it up, this made people illegally make, receive, and transport alcohol so they could get what they wanted. If the Prohibition was never repealed, it would most likely be common to have people illegally get alcohol and no one would question it.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Did America Change Its Mind About Prohibition? Over a century ago on December 17, 1917, the House of Representatives voted and approved the 18th amendment and prohibited the manufacturing, transporting, and selling of all alcoholic beverages in the United States (Mini Q, pg 117). There were many factors that went under consideration, leading to prohibition being passed. One was that people believed alcohol was behind some of the the country’s most important issues like child abuse, crime, corruption, worker safety, and unemployment.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prohibtion

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages

    America suffered a huge alcohol problem in the 1920s. The use of alcohol swept the nation but eventually got out of hand. Most Americans were unable to drink responsibly which lead to the start of prohibition. On December 17, 1917 the 18th amendment was passed putting on the sell and manufacturing of alcohol. This had America outraged. In turn people did whatever they had to, to get their alcohol again. The crime rate all over America rose dramatically. Prohibition was horrible on the American economy. Lastly, because of the great corruption in government there was a difficulty. Prohibition was passed for so many reasons, but these being the three main reasons America changed its mind about it.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    During the 1920’s to early 30’s the Eighteenth Amendment was established to end the production of alcohol in the United States. This was a fourteen year long reform that caused a rise of crime and violence in America. Many passed this Amendment thinking that many would benefit from the absence of alcohol. For example The Anti-Saloon League of America. This was an organization that originated in Oberlin, Ohio in 1893 and believed in temperance. Their goal in the 1900s was to rid America of the “Demon Drink” (Prohibition In America Alcohol History 1920s). Most of their support came from protestant ministers of Methodists and Baptists denominations. In 1895 this became a national organization which was strongest in the South and…

    • 1278 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Humans have consumed alcohol since the beginning of written history, and this history had not been forgotten in modern day society. People study history for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is so that humans can learn from the mistakes that people have made in the past, especially mistakes that affect entire societies. Scholars and politicians use history to make better and more educated decisions on policies and laws that affect today’s society. One of these mistakes that is intensely studied and compared to modern day issues is American prohibition in the 1920s. Prohibition in the United States was clearly a big mistake looking back on it, but at the time, it seemed like a very logical answer to the problem.…

    • 1985 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Prohibition was the 18th Amendment in the United States Constitution, prohibition banned making, transporting, and selling alcohol. In result of a widespread temperance movement during the the 20th century, Prohibition was very hard to control, ever with the Volstead Act in place. As the number of the illegal alcohol being sold increased, and the selling of illegal bootlegged alcohol. Also the number of speakeasies, or illegal bars, increased and the rise in gang activity is what lead to people supporting Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. In the beginning of 1933, Congress had the idea of creating a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that abolished the 18th Amendment. The act was passed later that year putting an end on…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Prohibition has taught many lessons that still remain to this day. They are used not only on the war on drugs but also with the efforts to reduce the access to tobacco and alcohol and to the issues on bans and restrictions on insider trades, gambling, and abortion. These lessons are important to help us learn from our mistakes and to help us solve the problems we had trouble with back then.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays