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Great depression of the 1920's
Temperance movement
Social effects of prohibition
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Recommended: Great depression of the 1920's
A short introduction
A lot of things happened in 1920 USA was one of the victors in the first World War, and had a good period. Soon that was changed and USA suffered from many things, the great crash, prohibition and gang wars. But not only bad things happened there was also the new deal, new cultures, new poets and writers.
The thing i want to write about is prohibition, that was a really big deal lots of books have been written about this subject, why it happened, which consequences it had and so on. And that is the same thing that i want to write about. So the question is, why did it happen, and which consequences did it have, and did it have any effect?
Prohibition parties
The prohibition was really started in the 16th century by religious people that believed that alcohol was a gift from god, but its abuse came from the devil. And at that time you would get punished for the abuse. The abuse of the holy gift from god kept on, and soon the general population drank three and a half gallon alcohol a year, and that was much
higher that in the past years. After the revolution the societies became more urban, the economy changed and there was an increase in crime, poverty and unemployment, the blame was put on drunkenness. In this environment physicians tried to find out an explanation and a solution for drinking problems. Dr. Benjamin Rush, found out that it was injurious for your physical and psychological health. Dr. Benjamin Rush himself believed in moderation of the
alcohol rather than prohibition. Even though he did that, within the next decade temperance organisations were formed in eight states.The tem...
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...ld not have gone on for the thirteen years it was allowed to. Maybe they should have informed people how dangerous alcohol can be, and made some restrictions instead. Or they should have hired more people to enforce the law. But as mentioned prohibition was ineffective.
Sources
http://prohibition.osu.edu/content/Medicinal_Alcohol.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1091124904.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=441
The hopes of the prohibitionist were dreams of a healthier and more successful nation. Their dreams were spun from the idea of shutting out the alcohol industry and enforcing large industries and stressing family values. The eighteenth amendment consisted of the end of sales, production, transportation, as for importation and exportation of intoxicating liquors. Their imaginations were large and very hopeful. The prohibitionists felt that alcohol is a slow poison of their community. They felt that if the liquor industry was shut out that Americans would spend their hard earned money in the clothing, food, and shoe industries therefore boosting the American economy. Many felt, “Seeing what a sober nation can do is indeed a noble experiment and one that has never yet been tried, (Crowther, 11) Prohibition was a test of the strength of the nation and an attempt at cleaning up societies evils. These reformers denounce alcohol as a danger to society as well as to the human body. Some ethnic hopes of prohibition was to regulate the foreigners whose backgrounds consisted on the use of alcohol for religious purposes. And try to enforce an American valued society upon them. Many reformists felt that ending the use of alcohol would protect American homes and families. They felt that alcohol use was the root of their family’s destruction. Many women felt that their husbands would waste a lot of their income on the purchase of alcohol and not on family needs. Alcohol was often known as a “poison, or sin”. Another hope for the eighteenth amendment was to reduce the crime and death rate. Many people felt that drunkenness was the cause of many of the nations crimes. Prohibitionist felt very passionately on their cause and were often called “dry’s.” They felt their battle was justified and that, “it is manifest destiny that alcohol will not survive the scrutiny,”(Darrow and Yarros, 20).
The Prohibition or the Eighteenth Amendment was a huge failure for a law in 1920. There were many factors that led to its downfall that included illegal means, rise of gangsters, and the Twenty- First Amendment. Despite the Prohibition, it did not stop the people from drinking it and accessing it through thousands of speakeasies. It became a most lucrative business for criminals that led to dangerous competition. In 1933, the failed amendment was repealed and most people rejoiced that alcohol was legal again. The Eighteenth Amendment was an experiment that went horribly wrong and did absolutely nothing to bring any positive change. This was proof “that you don’t have to be drunk to come up with a really, really, bad idea.” (Carlson. 141)
Prohibition perhaps best illustrates the contradictions in American society and politics during this period. Supported by those who looked to the government for ‘moral regulation’ leading the way to ensure. that people led clean, wholesome lives, it anticipated the role of government expanding private life to an unparalleled degree. Prohibition originated in rural and small town America, a crusade. against intoxicating liquor inspired by the poverty, misery.
Prohibition was a period in which the manufacturing, sale and transportation of alcohol was illegal. Alcohol was prohibited because it was believed that it was the reason for conflicts that involved the family. The prohibition of alcohol also led to the repeal of the 21st amendment for the first time. Because alcohol was prohibited people started drinking and sell illegal alcohol, in this photo men can be seen draining barrels of alcohol.
Although the temperance movement was concerned with the habitual drunk, its primary goal was total abstinence and the elimination of liquor. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the well-organized and powerful political organizations, utilizing no holds barred political tactics, successfully accomplished their goal. Prohibition became the law of the land on January 16, 1920; the manufacturing, importation, and sale of alcohol was no longer legal in the United States. Through prohibition, America embarked on what became labeled “the Nobel Experiment.” However, instead of having social redeeming values as ordained, prohibition had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, becoming a catastrophic failure.
The prohibition of alcohol in the United States lasted from 1920 until 1932. The movement began in the late nineteenth century, and was fueled by the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893 (Why Prohibition?). This league and other anti-alcohol organizations, began to succeed in establishing local prohibition laws. By the 1920's prohibition was a national effort.
Prohibition did not succeed at all. In order for prohibition to achieve what it was set to do it had to meet four specific guidelines.
“By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year – three times as much as we drink today – and alcohol abuse (primarily by men) was wreaking havoc on the lives of many.” In the 1800s millions of Americans took a pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol. This was known as the Temperance Movement. The temperance movement was a reaction to the increase of alcohol consumption throughout the nation. The opposition to drinking originally stemmed from heath and religious reformers. These groups were crucial to American society for their efforts to tighten social controls. During this era, there were multiple citizens who believed some individuals were living unethically. “These people feared that God would no longer bless the United States and that these ungodly and unscrupulous people posed a threat to America's political system. To survive, the American republic, these people believed, needed virtuous citizens.” Due to these
Blocker, Jack S. "American Temperance Movements: Cycles of Reform." Boston : Twayne Publishers, c1989. Ezell, Marcel D. "Early Attitudes toward Alcoholic Beverages in the South." Red River Valley Historical Review 7, 1982. Nott, Eliphalet.
The Prohibition had good intent, but it ultimately failed. Criminal activity rose rapidly and the economy fell harshly. America originally supported the Prohibition, but it eventually turned against it. The Prohibition lasted nearly fifteen years, but its legacy lives on. Nowadays the modern problem that closely mirrors the Prohibition is the war on drugs. Their illegal manufacture and sale is similar the manufacture and sale of alcohol during the Prohibition. History repeats itself.
Prohibition was passed to eradicate the demand for liquor but had the inadvertent effect to raise the crime rates in American. Robert Scott stated, “Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America” (Scott 2). As the demand for alcohol increased, people began to find new methods to mask the production and consumption of liquor. It became easier to break the rules. Organized crime blossomed and many law-abiding citizens turned into criminals. Court and prisons systems became over run and the drinking habits of American's changed for the worse.
After the American Revolution, drinking was on the rise. To combat this, a number of societies were organized as part of a new Temperance movement which attempted to dissuade people from becoming intoxicated. At first, these organizations pushed moderation, but after several decades, the movement's focus changed to complete prohibition of alcohol consumption. (Brayton)
Prohibition was a period in which the sale, manufacture, or transport of alcoholic beverages became illegal. It started January 16, 1919 and continued to December 5, 193. Although it was formed to stop drinking completely, it did not even come close. It created a large number of bootleggers who were able to supply the public with illegal alcohol. Many of these bootleggers became very rich and influential through selling alcohol and using other methods. They started the practices of organized crime that are still used today. Thus, Prohibition led to the rapid growth of organized crime.
Beer and alcohol has been around for thousands of years. It was only in the 1900’s that the idea that alcohol was a bad substance came about. Before prohibition went into effect there were 900 barrels of beer brewed each year. On December 10th of 1913 prohibitionist, people who supported prohibition also know as dries, marched to the capitol for the prohibition amendment. On the opposing, the anti-prohibitionist known as wets, elected the famous brewer Anheuser Bush as their leader. During the time of debate, on April 2nd, 1917 President Wilson declared war against Germany. This war gave the prohibitionist another reason for prohibition. Most of the liquor breweries were from German descent. This gave the wets a chance to combine the idea that war and alcohol were evil because they were both German. After lots of debates prohibition finally passed and went into effect on January 16th of 1920. Once in effect, the federal government wanted the state government to enforce the prohibition laws, meanwhile the state governments thought that the federal government would enforce the new law. This caused lots of confusion and for the law to be broken in many ways. It was acceptable to make wine for home conception, though you could not sell it or sell the ingredients for...
One of the main reasons that Prohibition began is because “in the 1820s and ’30s, a wave of religious revivalism swept the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance.”(History Staff). Another major reason was because of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. The union was one of the most supported women’s