What is the Prohibition? |
The period in history where the 18th amendment was ratified–which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors– was called the Prohibition. This occurred between the years of 1920 and 1933 which means the prohibition era lasted for about 14 years. |
When? What? Where? Why? How?
When: The prohibition era occurred during the early 20th century between the years of 1920 and 1933.
What: The 18th Amendment was passed that banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol
Where: The prohibition era occurred in early 20th century United States.
Why: The Prohibition was also called the “noble experiment”. This was to try to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America.
How: The 18th Amendment of the constitution was ratified in 1919. It prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol throughout the United States. Organization then began forming to repeal the 18th Amendment almost immediately after it went into effect.
What: The 18th Amendment was passed that banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol
Where: The prohibition era occurred in early 20th century United States.
Why: The Prohibition was also called the “noble experiment”. This was to try to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America.
How: The 18th Amendment of the constitution was ratified in 1919. It prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol throughout the United States. Organization then began forming to repeal the 18th Amendment almost immediately after it went into effect.
Important event and people during the Prohibition
The 18th Amendment: The 18th Amendment was ratified which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol. This Amendment went into effect on January 16th 1920 which began the prohibition era.
The Volstead act: The Volstead act was passed on October 28th 1919 that was used to clarify the 18th Amendment. The act stated "beer, wine, or other intoxicating malt or vinous liquors" meant any beverage that was more than 0.5% alcohol by volume. The Act also stated that owning any item designed to manufacture alcohol was illegal and it set specific fines and jail sentences for violating Prohibition."
Loopholes: There were loopholes to the 18th Amendment for example, the 18th amendment didn't forbid the actual consumption of Alcohol. Many people bought Alcohol before the Prohibition went into effect which was a year after the Amendment was ratified, and then used it for personal uses. The Volstead act allowed for people to consume alcohol that was prescribed by a doctor. When the Prohibition went into effect, a larger number of prescribers we allowed alcohol
Gangsters and Speakeasies: So many people illegally tried to get alcohol during this time period. New kinds of gangster arose during this period. They saw the unbalance in supply and saw that as a way to profit. They would hire men to smuggle in from the Caribbean who were called rumrunners or hijack whisky from Canada and bring it to the United states. The gangsters would then open up secret bars called Speakeasies and sell. Prohibition agents were hired to shut down these speakeasies but most were underpaid and unreliable so many forms of bribery would occur.
Attempts to appeal the 18th Amendment: Immediately after the ratification of the 18th Amendment, organizations formed to repeal it. Many people fought back to allow liquor so, the anti-Prohibition movement gained strength as the 1920s progressed. People often questioned if alcohol consumption was a local issue and not something that should be in the Constitution. Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression started changing people's opinion on the 18th Amendment. People needed jobs and the government needed money. Making alcohol legal again would open up many new jobs for citizens and additional sales taxes for the government which is why people wanted it legalized.
The 21st Amendment was ratified: December 5, 1933 was when the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment and made alcohol once again legal. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.
The Volstead act: The Volstead act was passed on October 28th 1919 that was used to clarify the 18th Amendment. The act stated "beer, wine, or other intoxicating malt or vinous liquors" meant any beverage that was more than 0.5% alcohol by volume. The Act also stated that owning any item designed to manufacture alcohol was illegal and it set specific fines and jail sentences for violating Prohibition."
Loopholes: There were loopholes to the 18th Amendment for example, the 18th amendment didn't forbid the actual consumption of Alcohol. Many people bought Alcohol before the Prohibition went into effect which was a year after the Amendment was ratified, and then used it for personal uses. The Volstead act allowed for people to consume alcohol that was prescribed by a doctor. When the Prohibition went into effect, a larger number of prescribers we allowed alcohol
Gangsters and Speakeasies: So many people illegally tried to get alcohol during this time period. New kinds of gangster arose during this period. They saw the unbalance in supply and saw that as a way to profit. They would hire men to smuggle in from the Caribbean who were called rumrunners or hijack whisky from Canada and bring it to the United states. The gangsters would then open up secret bars called Speakeasies and sell. Prohibition agents were hired to shut down these speakeasies but most were underpaid and unreliable so many forms of bribery would occur.
Attempts to appeal the 18th Amendment: Immediately after the ratification of the 18th Amendment, organizations formed to repeal it. Many people fought back to allow liquor so, the anti-Prohibition movement gained strength as the 1920s progressed. People often questioned if alcohol consumption was a local issue and not something that should be in the Constitution. Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression started changing people's opinion on the 18th Amendment. People needed jobs and the government needed money. Making alcohol legal again would open up many new jobs for citizens and additional sales taxes for the government which is why people wanted it legalized.
The 21st Amendment was ratified: December 5, 1933 was when the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment and made alcohol once again legal. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.
Importance
Prohibition began in 1920, a year after the 18th Amendment banning alcohol was ratified on January 29, 1919. At first it resulted in a 30 percent drop in alcohol consumption and a decline in alcohol-related arrests. But over time, both crime and alcoholism had increased as people found ways to get around the laws. In December, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified and repealed the 18th Amendment which ended the Prohibition. Prohibition was important in the 1920s because it demonstrated that banning something can have the opposite effect of making it more desirable and more dangerous. The Prohibition was used to try and reduce crime but in return, there was a rise in organized crime, people were out of jobs and it stopped the economy from getting more profit.
Triggers
Political Trigger:
Women’s Suffrage
Most women supported prohibition because they believed it would prevent abuse at home, and maintain a generally civilized lifestyle. The prohibition and women’s suffrage movements created an alliance. One of the reasons the women’s suffrage was successful was because groups like the Ku Klux Klan believed that women would vote for prohibition if they were supported.
World event trigger:
World War I
In 1916, Wilson signed the Sheppard Act. The Sheppard act banned alcohol in D.C., which led the way for more prohibition reform. He was originally torn on whether or not to sign the bill, but in the end decided to sign it, because if he vetoed it, it would split the party when US joined WWI in 1917. There were also a great number of German beer brewers during this time of anti-German sentiment, so there was a certain patriotism associated with prohibition.
Economic trigger:
16th Amendment/Income Taxes
The 16th Amendment (The Federal Income tax), enacted in 1913 and replaced alcohol taxes for the federal government. The government was no longer making money off the alcohol industry. The prohibition movement was now able to argue that they were of no use to the federal government.
Important person
Fiorello La Guardia1882 - 1947
Fiorello La Guardia was Mayor of New York from 1934 to 1945 and served in Congress from in 1916 and 1918, and from 1922 through 1930. La Guardia was a vocal critic of the Volstead Act. In 1926 he called 20 newspapermen and photographers into Room 150 in the House Office Building in Washington, D.C. He mixed ‘near beer’ with malt extract, which then fermented and became beer. He drank a glass and then continued to do this demonstration in New York City. He argued that the Prohibition created “contempt and disregard for the law all over the country.” La Guardia was tough-minded reform mayor who cleaned out corruption, bring in gifted experts, and fix upon the city a broad sense of responsibility for its own citizens. His administration had engaged new groups that had been kept out of the political system, gave New York its modern infrastructure, and raised expectations of new levels of urban possibility. Fiorello La Guardia was important because he was one of the first Republicans to voice his opinion about prohibition and urged that the Dry cause would be disastrous in the long run. This broke the taboo because both parties avoided taking a stand on prohibition issues at the time
Cites
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~bernt22l/classweb/Liana/Timeline.html
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/p/prohibition.htm
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/people/#
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1920s/p/prohibition.htm
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/people/#