18th Amendment Research Paper

From 1920 to 1933, the United States banned the transportation, manufacturing and sale of alcoholic beverages. Yet, this amendment did not ban the consumption of alcohol. In 1917, when the United States entered WWI; President Woodrow Wilson issued a temporary wartime prohibition. Wilson did this in order to save grain for producing food. During this same year, congress submitted the 18th amendment. Congress stipulated a seven-year time limit for the process (Prohibition). 11 months later, on January 29th, 1919 the 18th Amendment achieved the necessary three-fourths majority of state ratification. The Amendment did not officially take effect until January 29th, 1920. The 18th Amendment would later be repealed on December 5th, 1933, with the …show more content…
Illegal liquor stills were in basements, and backwoods across the United States (American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition). Bootleggers produced millions of gallons of bathtub gin, rotgut moonshine, hard ciders, wines, beers, whiskeys, and jamaica gin. The most commonly poisoned alcohol was “Jamaica Gin” also known as “Jake” (Speakeasies). “Jamaica Gin” was 90 percent alcohol. In most states “Jamaica Gin” was obtainable by prescription, because it could help relieve an upset stomach. Bootleggers bought supplies of “Jamaica Gin” or made their own mutations to sell (Burns 221). Illegal liquors that were produced contained industrial alcohol made for use in fuels and medical supplies (10 Things You Should Know About Prohibition). Some of the other poisons that were added in the homemade liquors include, wood alcohol, benzine, cadmium, iodine, zinc, mercury salts, ether, formaldehyde, chloroform, carbolic acid, acetone and brucine. Moonshine stills often used lead coals or lead, which gave off acetate lead (Negative Effects of Prohibition). Acetated lead is a very dangerous poison that can lead to lead poison and joint pain (Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet). Homemade alcohol poisoned, blinded, and even killed those who consumed the liquors. Some breweries went through the process of removing alcohol from beer, calling the new drink “near-beer.” This non-alcoholic beer …show more content…
Many were also tempted to join the bootleg industry themselves. As many stayed loyal to the government, some did not (Lerner). Many scandals came about during this time that dealt with police officers, government officials and many other superior people. This led to trust issues during Prohibition. In one scandal that occurred in Edgewater, New Jersey; the mayor, chief of police, a US customs inspector, two detectives, a New York police sergeant, and eight others were convicted of conspiracy. A bootlegger admitted that he had paid them $61,000 to help him bring in one million dollars worth of alcohol. In another scandal a city magistrate in Philadelphia was convicted for taking $87,993 in bribes in only ten months (Negative Effects of Prohibition). The justice system was corrupt, and it was hard to trust people due to scandals involving other officials. Not every official was bad, yet the ones that were, broke others trust. Many people were suspicious as to what may be happening behind the scenes. Afterall, officials were supposed to be obeying the laws since they were enforcing it upon others. Many courtrooms and jails overflowed as during the Prohibition as well. Crime was on the rise which led to the overflow of courtrooms, jails, and prisons. During the first year of Prohibition the number of crimes committed in 30 major cities in the U.S. increased 24 percent (Negative Effects of

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