The Prohibition Of The 1920's

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"Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve." On January 16, 1920, the Eighteen Amendment was put into effect and all transporting, importing, exporting, selling, and manufacturing of intoxicating liquor was halted. By then already 25 states in America were already dry, this was because the government thought that banning alcohol would reduce crime rates. This amendment was the product of decades of effort by groups such as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League. Shortly after the enforcement of the Eighteen Amendment the Volstead Act was put in effect. The Volstead Act determined that intoxicating liquor was defined as any beverage over 0.5% alcohol and superseded …show more content…
From the passing of the eighteenth amendment, sales of clothing and household goods were expected to skyrocket. Companies expected the sales of all the products to increase, but none of this came true. Instead there was a decrease in the entertainment industry as a whole. Restaurants would often fail as they could not keep up the cost, without the sale of alcohol. As a whole the initial economic effects of the prohibition was largely negative. The closing of breweries, distilleries and saloons led to thousands of lost jobs. Before the prohibition almost over 75% of the state’s revenue relied heavily on the taxation of liquor sales. The government lost over $11 billion in tax revenue and spend $300 million to enforce it (Michael. Lerner, Prohibition). The prohibition eroded respect for religion, since many saw alcohol as the devil’s drink. With the increase of alcohol on the streets, there was not a single way that the government could make money. That worse part is that now that money that would often go back to the people are now making criminal organizations extremely wealthy. Some would argue that the government was funding criminal organizations as the government’s actions never accomplished anything. The prohibition also weakened the stature of the country itself. It permanently corrupted law enforcement, the court system and politics. Policeman and politicians were bribed and blackmailed. It created a new class of “open to the highest bidder”. Many court cases were paid off and in many cases a payoffs would be required to maintain a fair hearing. In 1923 the US District Attorneys spent 44% of their time on prohibition cases. (Florien, Daniel. 12 Bad Effects). With the overflow of prison inmates, many officers were unable to arrest many people due to the fact that there was simply no space for any more prisoners. This took time away from the real purpose of police and courts. The thousands of
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