DBQ Essay: It's Time To Legalize Prohibition

670 Words2 Pages

Al Capone once said, “Prohibition has made nothing but trouble”. Many people, including Capone, viewed prohibition as an utter failure of the law. Criminals, law-abiding citizens, and governing officials opposed it, eventually leading to its repealment. Prohibition was enacted with the 18th amendment, discontinuing the legal use of alcohol. The prohibition era was inspired by the late 19th century “progressive movement.” Why did America change its mind about prohibition? America changed its mind about prohibition because crime spiked during prohibition. There was virtually nothing that could be done to enforce prohibition, and states and the federal government alike needed money.
America changed its mind about prohibition because crime increased dramatically. Document B shows exactly how crime went up during prohibition. In document B, the homicides per 100,000 population is portrayed in a graph format. Before prohibition in the year 1919, the murder rate was seven people murdered per 100,000 population. At the height of prohibition in 1933, that ratio grew to ten people per 100,000 population. Finally in post-prohibition 1940, six homicides were committed for every 100,000 people. Thus prohibition sparked a rise in crime. Document A shows a political cartoon created during the …show more content…

“Before prosperity can return in this country the budgets of local and national governments must be balanced. If the liquor now sold by bootleggers was legally sold, regulated, and taxed, the tax income would pay the interest on the entire local and national debt and leave more than $200,000,000 for urgently needed purposes”(Document E). If alcohol were legalized again, the government could collect an excise tax on it. The tax would solve the national debt problem and provide the nation with a surplus of funding. Overall, the eradication of prohibition could have provided more money for the federal, state, and local

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