Annotated Bibliography Topic: Prohibition and Smuggling in America Sources: Leichtman, Ellen. The Machine, The Mayor, And The Marine: The Battle Over Prohibition in Philadelphia, 1924- 1925. (Eastern Kentucky University. Press, 2016) This online resource discussed the republican Philadelphian mayor, W. Freeland Kendrick, at the time of 1924-25 and his opinion of prohibition. Kendrick was apart if the Philadelphian Machine. He appointed William S. Vare as the Machine’s head, who did not support the prohibition movement, and he practically turned a blind eye to the movement. Vare appointed general Smedley D. Butler as the head of the department of public safety. Butler believed that everyone should follow every law, including prohibition. …show more content…
Professor Lindquist-Dorr is affiliated with the University of Alabama as an associate professor of history. The article further explains the relationship between illegal immigrants and illegal alcohol smuggling in the United States. Because of the Cuban’s smuggling alcohol, it made Tampa, Florida one of the wettest cities in America at the time. they had an abundance of alcohol and many ways to get ahold of more. There were many other alcohol smugglers that was not from Cuba like moonshiner’s, but Florida’s main source of alcohol came from Cuba. This article describes in debt the actions taken by the U.S Coast Guard, U.S Customs Service, Immigrations, and the Prohibition Bureau and how they handled the newly arrived alcohol and immigrants. It explains the actions taken to prevent alcohol smuggling by these workers. This article correlates with the texts by giving the reader insight about the illegal smuggling and what was happening in America at the time. This movement of immigrants from Cuba is actually how the term “Illegal alien” was coined because of the immigration law passed in 1924, and this term is still widely used today. This article is imperative to understanding prohibition and smuggling, mainly how alcohol was connected to illegal aliens. How government officials such as …show more content…
It describes how even though there are a few hundred Americans who have a drinking problem, all the other Americans get to have their right to be able to enjoy a drink from time to time in moderation taken away. It says that even a religious man can find the danger in consuming too much alcohol because he is not strong enough to deny another drink. Therefore, alcohol should be banned legally so that the few over indulgers cannot be tempted with having a legal drink at their own will. It will argue both sides of the American people and alcoholism, the religious side, why the bible supports prohibition, and the side of the Americans who are able to drink in moderation. One argument given against prohibition is that alcohol increases your sexual needs, which is also frowned upon by Christians if these sexual activities are being practiced outside of marriage. Therefore, eliminating alcohol would decrease the number of sexual relations outside of marriage. Percy Andreae was a leading anti-prohibitionist during the 1920s. He was one of the leading brewers in Cincinnati, Ohio and organized a successful resistance called the Anti Saloon League. The way this source correlates with the other sources is by explaining the religious aspects of prohibition and how the more religious Americans felt about the elimination of alcohol. Prohibition has caused more damage in thirteen years than alcohol being a legal leaser
“Last Call,” provides the answers and explanations to these two questions and the historical viewpoint on the Prohibition Era. Daniel Okrent, who has authored four other books and is the first public editor of The New York Times, views Prohibition as one clash in a larger war waged by small-town white Protestants who felt overwhelmed by the forces of change that were sweeping their nation. He explains that this is a theory that was first proposed by the historian Richard Hofstadter more than five decades ago. Though many books and historical accounts have been written about Prohibition since then, Okrent offers an original account, which shows how its advocates combined the nativist fears of many Americans with legitimate concerns about the...
In the beginning of the twenties America was in the midst of an economic boom, people were happy- World War I was over and Americans were rich. But by the end, because of prohibition, and in large part because of the stock market crash, the American economy quickly declined into the Great Depression. During this time the 18th Amendment- prohibition- was passed. Prohibition's supporters were initially surprised by what did not come to pass during the dry era. When the law went into effect, real estate developers and landlords expected rents to rise as saloons closed and neighborhoods improved. Theater producers were expecting an increase in customers as Americans searched for new ways to entertain themselves, ways that did not involve alcohol. But this did not happen. Instead, there was a decline in amusement and entertainment industries all over the United States. Some restaurants even failed, as they could no longer make a profit without legal liquor sales. On the whole, the initial economic effects of Prohibition were largely negative. The closing of breweries, distilleries and saloons led to the elimination of thousands of jobs, and in turn thousands more jobs were eliminated for barrel makers, truckers, waiters, and other related trades. One of the most profound effects of Prohibition was on government tax revenues. Before Prohibition, many states relied heavily on excise taxes in liquor sales to fund their budgets. Almost 75% of New York’s revenue came from liquor taxes, but with prohibition in effect, all that reven...
Enacting prohibition in a culture so immersed in alcohol as America was not easy. American had long been a nation of strong social drinkers with a strong feeling towards personal freedom. As Okrent remarks, “George Washington had a still on his farm. James Madison downed a pint of whiskey a day”. This was an era when drinking liquor on ships was far safer than the stale scummy water aboard, and it was common fo...
The United States and our government has been shaped entirely from its past. We have learned right from wrong, what has worked and what has failed. The 1920s was a time in our country where the government created a law that upset the people. This decade is often referred to as The Roaring 20’s, The Jazz Age, The Prohibition Era, The Cocktail Era, etc. All these names perfectly describe this time, but it was also a time to learn from the mistake of creating a law that prohibited alcohol. This law played such a huge role in the decade, and has been forever remembered. The Great Gatsby is a romance novel that also hints on the time of prohibition. F. Scott Fitzgerald talked greatly about alcohol and the part it took in The Roaring 20 's. Though
In 1920, a leading Prohibitionist declared in Congress that “There is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a hummingbird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.” 13 years later, after the outbreak of the Great Depression this is exactly what happened? However, the main reason lies not with the Depression itself; this was merely the catalyst for its repeal. The simple fact the prohibition did not achieve its aims was the main cause of the passing of the Twenty-first Amendment, bringing about other factors which pushed the anti-Prohibition movement forwards.
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.
Many may say that the Antebellum Temperance Movement was primarily motivated by religious moralism. I tend to take that stance as well. The Antebellum Temperance Movement of the 18th century was focused around the idea that people, mostly men, should abstain from alcohol if they could not drink the spirits in moderation. In this era, many women had suffered greatly because their loved ones would imbibe excessively leaving them short on money, food, and even shelter which left many impoverished and unable to care for their families. Additionally, the excessive consumption of alcohol led to health care issues, crime and in the end, destitution. The first author, W.J. Rorabaugh, is a proponent on the side of how Christian ministers, “portrayed liquor as the tool of the devil and develop temperance societies as socialization institutions to ease social tensions and anxieties that contributed to alcohol consumption,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256) Appositionally, John J. Rumbarger opposes by stating that, “the nineteenth–century temperance reform was the product of the pro-capitalist market economy whose entrepreneurial elite led the way toward abstinence and prohibitionist campaigns. In order to guarantee the availability for a more productive workforce,” (Madaras, L.; SoRelle, J. Pg. 256). I agree with W.J. Rorabaugh that during the Antebellum Temperance Movement, the church’s played an enormous role in prohibiting alcohol consumption because it was the “tool of the devil”.
It was apparent that Prohibition didn’t achieve its goals, instead, it added to the existing economic and social problems, as well as creating new problems that would be prominent in today’s society. Organized crime grew into an empire, disrespect for the law grew, the per capita consumption of alcohol increased dramatically, city officials fell to gangsters, and the government lost money. It is obvious that prohibition was a miserable failure from all points of view. Reasonable measures were not taken to enforce the laws, so they were practically ignored.
The fight for immigration restriction was fueled by America’s negative view of foreigners. Protestants especially made it a point to link alcohol with Catholic Irish immigrants. They were looked upon as immoral and corrupt because of this. Prohibiting alcohol was an unsuccessful way of trying to counterattack not only the immorality in urban cities, but the immigrants who resided there as well. This was yet another example of searching for an answer to the deterioration of morals and values. In an effort to justify prohibition, it was said that Limitation upon individual freedom in matters affecting society is the price that any people must pay for the progress of its civilization. Personal liberty cannot rightly be claimed for practices which militate against the welfare of others or the interest of the community as a whole.
" First, the adage is a slam. prohibition was a popular step. Supporters of prohibition, who? endorsed the law, believed that it would help the poor because paychecks would not be wasted on alcoholic beverages, which was done. by many people during this time, many of whom had starving children. Many industrial leaders of the time, such as Rockefeller, Ford, and Carnegie, all supported prohibition because they believed that alcohol decreased productivity of workers.
Okrent, Daniel. "Prohibition Life: Politics, Loopholes And Bathtub Gin." NPR. NPR, 2010. Web. Feb. 2014.
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 Era." The Prohibition Era. Historic Patterson, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
Okrent, Daniel. Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. New York: Scribner, (2010) : 255.
Many Americans, religious leaders, and political leaders saw alcohol as the key to all that was evil, a curse on the nation. Significant numbers of people believed that the consumption of alcoholic beverages presented a serious threat to the integrity of their most vital foundations, especially the family (“Prohibition” 846).