Prohibition

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Prohibition

Prohibition, “The Noble Experiment,” was a great and genius idea on paper, but did not go as planned. With illegal activities still increasing and bootlegging at its all time high, it was no wonder the idea crumbled. Could they have revised the law to make it more effective? If so, would the law be in place today, and how would that have changed our lives today? Although it was brief, Prohibition will remain a huge part of America’s history. Completely illegalizing the production and consumption of alcohol was a great plan that ended up being a great failure.

Prohibition, under the Eighteenth Amendment was the Governments idea of illegalizing the consumption, production, and transportation of intoxicating liquors. Ratified on January 16, 1919, many states accepted the idea and it became part of the American Constitution and took effect exactly one year later. At first, many people supported the idea and felt that prohibition would greatly increase the average American’s quality of life. They also saw an increase in crime and felt that Prohibition would help to make those numbers fall and work out some of the social problems of the 20’s. Although supporters were always around, many American’s were angry and appalled by the law. Saloons and liquor was a big part of many peoples life and only a handful of them were willing to give it up. With this brought many problems that prohibition was thought to fix.

Consumption of alcohol fell at the start of Prohibition, but rose significantly shortly after. It is also believed that the removal of alcohol had many people switching to cocaine, heroin and other dangerous drugs. Prohibition clearly brought along the biggest disrespect of the law the country has ever seen. Never before had there been so many law abiding citizens, now braking the law on a regular basis. “Speakeasies,” illegal bars where people would come to socialize, dance and buy both imported and homemade alcohol also became very popular. As Jello Biafa said, “For every Prohibition you create, you also create an underground.”

Supplying these speakeasies with liquor became a huge and profitable business in its own right and helped open the door for many large criminal families and organizations. Al Capone, one of the most notorious crime bosses of all time, made unbelievable amounts of money in the industry-over sixty million ...

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...ccidents.

Prohibition in general was a complete failure. Political corruption grew, innocent people suffered greatly, organized crime skyrocketed and there was little improvement in the two areas of society Prohibition was intended to fix: crime actually increased and alcohol consumption went up. Although a failure and a bitter part of history, Prohibition is still important to America today. It was one of few amendments to the still active U.S. Constitution. Prohibition also greatly impacted the drinking habits of today in a couple of ways. Before Prohibition, most people drank in moderation in public places. Once Prohibition took place, public drinking was outlawed, thus people who insisted on drinking began producing and storing alcohol in there homes. This made alcohol greatly accessible in the homes of the poor and others who before were not drinking. With alcohol always in your home and by your side, drinking became more popular and more common. If Prohibition had never been created, many people would not have alcohol in there homes. Did prohibition ever have a chance or was it doomed from the start? Prohibition was a great plan that ended up being a great failure.

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