Prohibition
Political:
- 18th Amendment: prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. It was ratified by the states and Congress voted its approval in October 1919, and enacted it into law as the National Prohibition Act of 1920
- Volstead Act: enabled the United States government to enforce the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and is formally known as the National Prohibition Act. In combination with the 18th Amendment and other supporting legislature, it is included under the blanket term “Prohibition.” In 1933, the Volstead Act and other Prohibition related laws were repealed in response to popular outcry.
Economical:
- Prohibition created a vast illegal market for the production, trafficking and sale of alcohol. In turn, the economy took a major hit, thanks to lost tax revenue and legal jobs.
- Adulterated or contaminated liquor contributed to more than 50,000 deaths and many cases of blindness and paralysis. Drinks became higher in alcoholic content, lower in quality, and cheaper.
- "home brew" and "bathtub gin" became popular as law-evading adults engaged in "alky cooking"
- Many soldiers and laborers were angered at the loss of their cheap drinks.
- However, this "noble experiment" wasn't a complete failure because Bank savings increased and absenteeism in industry decreased (probably due to the newly sober ways of formerly soused barflies)
Social:
- Prohibition was loudly supported by churches and women, especially the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
- It was especially popular in the South and West, as Southern whites were eager to keep stimulants out of the hands of blacks, which they perceived as having low social statuses.
- Many people believing that prohibition was a permanent thing indulged in last wild flings, as the nation prepared itself to enter an "alcoholiday"
- Violent wars broke out in big cities between rival gangs who sought to corner the rich market in booze.
- In the gang wars of the 1920's many five hundred mobsters were murdered, and few arrests were made, as gangsters covered up for each other with silence.
- "Scarface" Al Capone, a murderous booze distributor, began six years of gang warfare that earned him millions of blood-splattered dollars. He was especially known for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and finally arrested for income-tax evasion.
- 18th Amendment: prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. It was ratified by the states and Congress voted its approval in October 1919, and enacted it into law as the National Prohibition Act of 1920
- Volstead Act: enabled the United States government to enforce the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and is formally known as the National Prohibition Act. In combination with the 18th Amendment and other supporting legislature, it is included under the blanket term “Prohibition.” In 1933, the Volstead Act and other Prohibition related laws were repealed in response to popular outcry.
Economical:
- Prohibition created a vast illegal market for the production, trafficking and sale of alcohol. In turn, the economy took a major hit, thanks to lost tax revenue and legal jobs.
- Adulterated or contaminated liquor contributed to more than 50,000 deaths and many cases of blindness and paralysis. Drinks became higher in alcoholic content, lower in quality, and cheaper.
- "home brew" and "bathtub gin" became popular as law-evading adults engaged in "alky cooking"
- Many soldiers and laborers were angered at the loss of their cheap drinks.
- However, this "noble experiment" wasn't a complete failure because Bank savings increased and absenteeism in industry decreased (probably due to the newly sober ways of formerly soused barflies)
Social:
- Prohibition was loudly supported by churches and women, especially the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
- It was especially popular in the South and West, as Southern whites were eager to keep stimulants out of the hands of blacks, which they perceived as having low social statuses.
- Many people believing that prohibition was a permanent thing indulged in last wild flings, as the nation prepared itself to enter an "alcoholiday"
- Violent wars broke out in big cities between rival gangs who sought to corner the rich market in booze.
- In the gang wars of the 1920's many five hundred mobsters were murdered, and few arrests were made, as gangsters covered up for each other with silence.
- "Scarface" Al Capone, a murderous booze distributor, began six years of gang warfare that earned him millions of blood-splattered dollars. He was especially known for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and finally arrested for income-tax evasion.