How Did Prohibition Affect Society

Prohibition was the nationwide outlaw of sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcohol. The purpose of prohibition was to improve the lives of Americans, and to protect individuals, families and society from the effects of alcohol. Alcohol abuse destroyed the lives of many, especially in a time when women were dependent on men for support. The Temperance movement was the country's first anti-alcohol movement, the movement campaigned against alcohol use. It was rooted in religious objections to consuming alcohol and the belief that society would benefit if alcohol was unavailable. The two major groups who battled to outlaw alcohol were the Woman's Christian Temperance Movement and The Anti-Saloon League. In January 1929, Prohibition was put into law by passing the Eighteenth Amendment to the

Constitution. In early 1933, Congress adopted the 21st Amendment to the Constitution which repealed the 18th. It was passed by the end of the year; the Prohibition era had ended. Although the purpose of Prohibition was to limit alcohol consumption in order to improve the lives of Americans, outlawing alcohol ultimately had negative consequences on health, the economy and law enforcement.
Prohibition had many unexpected effects on the economy. Workers across many professions expected a rise in sales after alcohol was outlawed. Store owners expected sales in clothing, and household goods to rise. Real estate developers and landlords expected rents to rise as saloons closed and neighborhoods improve. Chewing gum and soda companies expected a rise in sales. Movie theaters expected bigger crowds now that people needed to entertain themselves without alcohol. None of this happened, instead prohibition led to a decline in the amusement industries such as restaurants and theaters because they were unable to legally sell alcohol. This led a decline in income. The closing of breweries, distilleries and saloons, led thousands of people to lose their jobs. This resulted in thousands more jobs being lost for barrel makers, truck drivers, and waiters, and other jobs related to the sale of alcohol. The economics of prohibition also had effects on the government's tax revenues as many states relied on liquor taxes. In New York, 75% of their revenue was from the sales tax on alcohol. The federal government lost $11 billion in tax revenue and it cost the federal government $300 million to enforce. The money was spent on managing the prisoners in jail. The Day, a newspaper in Iowa, said the direct cost of crime in Rochester, New York was 1.5 million dollars in 1929. The loss of jobs in the alcohol industry also affected the government as they were no longer receiving income tax revenues from the people whose jobs were lost. Concluding sentence.
Although during prohibition alcohol consumption decreased improving health, many found illegal ways to consume alcohol which were often detrimental to health.

Unregulated alcohol had a negative effect on public health. Prohibition did not improve hygiene in America as anticipated. Bootleggers made millions of gallons of “bathtub gin” and rotgut moonshine. The alcohol had a foul taste but people drank even with the risk of being poisoned or becoming blind. As trade in illegal alcohol increased, the quality of the alcohol decreased. The illegal alcohol often contained fuels and medical supplies. As a result the government had to add more toxic chemicals to industrial alcohol to make it undrinkable, putting people who drank it in even more danger. On average 1,000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition from the effects of drinking tainted liquor. An estimated total of over 10,000 people died during the prohibition era from directly alcohol or related causes. Although it was unknown at the time moderate drinking can be beneficial to one's health, because alcohol was made illegal americans were unable to receive the benefits. Concluding

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