Why Did Prohibition Last so Long
Why Did Prohibition Last So Long?
Prohibition of Alcohol in America was introduced in 1920 with the 18th amendment of the constitution and was finally revoked in 1933. Prohibition was always considered a failure, due to the way it was policed, the fact the American people at the time liked to drink and the fact that alcohol was very easily accessible. Therefore the fact it lasted thirteen years, despite it being obvious within the first five that things were not working, seems incomprehensible. There are a number of factors which worked together to make prohibition last as long as it did. The most important being morale reasons behind introducing it at first, but the popularity of prohibition, the time it to repeal a law and the fact it didn’t really affect people’s lives too much also had an effect.
The primary reason for Prohibition lasting so long was the morale reasons that we used to get the law passed in the first place still stood and people sympathised with them. For example many women’s groups saw alcohol as a means by which men oppressed them, and also though that the money spent on drink could be better used amongst the family with raising children and other general necessities. This attitude didn’t stop during the prohibition years as people were still drinking and hence propaganda regarding prohibition still bore the pictures of families with mothers and children longing for their husbands/fathers to support prohibition. The Woman’s Temperance society played a big part in this. It wasn’t just the domestic morals which were attacked by prohibition it was the industrial ones too. Big businesses saw drunkenness as something that led to danger and more importantly inefficiency in the work place, particularly in large factories where hazardous machinery was used. For example the Rockefeller Corporation and Heinz supported prohibition in the interest of greater workforce efficiency. Similarly, this was always an aspect that could be improved so the big
Prohibition of Alcohol in America was introduced in 1920 with the 18th amendment of the constitution and was finally revoked in 1933. Prohibition was always considered a failure, due to the way it was policed, the fact the American people at the time liked to drink and the fact that alcohol was very easily accessible. Therefore the fact it lasted thirteen years, despite it being obvious within the first five that things were not working, seems incomprehensible. There are a number of factors which worked together to make prohibition last as long as it did. The most important being morale reasons behind introducing it at first, but the popularity of prohibition, the time it to repeal a law and the fact it didn’t really affect people’s lives too much also had an effect.
The primary reason for Prohibition lasting so long was the morale reasons that we used to get the law passed in the first place still stood and people sympathised with them. For example many women’s groups saw alcohol as a means by which men oppressed them, and also though that the money spent on drink could be better used amongst the family with raising children and other general necessities. This attitude didn’t stop during the prohibition years as people were still drinking and hence propaganda regarding prohibition still bore the pictures of families with mothers and children longing for their husbands/fathers to support prohibition. The Woman’s Temperance society played a big part in this. It wasn’t just the domestic morals which were attacked by prohibition it was the industrial ones too. Big businesses saw drunkenness as something that led to danger and more importantly inefficiency in the work place, particularly in large factories where hazardous machinery was used. For example the Rockefeller Corporation and Heinz supported prohibition in the interest of greater workforce efficiency. Similarly, this was always an aspect that could be improved so the big