John Koren's Inherent Frailties Of Prohibition

The 1920s was a time of major social change in the United States. The social changes during this period were reflected in the laws and regulations that were brought into play at this time. One of the most prominent examples of this was prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, also known as the Volsted Act, which got its name from its sponsor, Representative Andrew Volsted of Minnesota, was created to eliminate the use of alcohol in the United States. In doing this, the proponents of prohibition hoped to end the social problems associated with alcohol, such as domestic abuse. "It was an attempt to promote Protestant middle-class culture as a means of imposing order on a disorderly world"(Dumenil, 1995). However, this goal of keeping peace by not consuming alcohol, was not reached during the years of prohibition, or the years following it. Alcohol consumed by Americans did decline, but it was not totally eliminated as hoped, and some of the social problems seemed to be even greater than before prohibition was in effect. Therefore, prohibition was not successful in its original purpose. To better understand the reasons behind the failure of prohibition, one must have to look at the years before, during, and after prohibition. This will give a better understanding to the implementation of the 18th Amendment as well as show the trends of Americans' alcohol use and the effects of alcohol on American society.

“For those Americans who did not want to go to the effort of making their own liquor, an army of bootleggers, moonshiners, and rumrunners was available to supply the nation with all the booze its citizens could drink” (Hanson). Americans could just buy alcohol from bootleggers, moonshiners, and rumrunners if they did not want to make it themselves because they could find an alcohol seller anywhere. “The Eighteenth Amendment was intended to reduce drinking by abolishing the businesses that made and sold alcohol: breweries, distillers, winemakers, wholesale sellers, and retail establishments such as saloons” (Hanson). The Eighteenth Amendment was made to stop alcohol from getting on the streets but it did no use so they got rid of the Eighteenth Amendment. The temperance movement and the prohibition on alcohol helped stop most of the drinking in the United States of America.

As a result of Prohibition, the advancements of industrialization within the alcoholic beverage industry were essentially reversed. Large-scale alcohol producers were shut down, for the most part, and some individual citizens took it upon themselves to produce alcohol illegally, essentially reversing the efficiency of mass-producing and retailing alcoholic beverages. Closing the country's manufacturing plants and taverns also resulted in an economic downturn for the industry. While the Eighteenth Amendment did not have this effect on the industry due to its failure to define an "intoxicating" beverage, the Volstead Act's definition of 0.5% or more alcohol by volume shut down the brewers, who expected to continue to produce beer of moderate

In 1920, The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution that prohibits the manufacture, sales, and transportation of the alcohol was passed and continued until 1933.

The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act did terminate the production of alcohol, but didn’t stop many from drinking it. Bootleggers bribed many government officials to provide alcohol to the public and to preserve their multi-million dollar business. This shows how disorganized and corrupt the government was during Prohibition. The government was supposed to support the citizens and Prohibition at that time. Instead, they turned against the people of United States and joined forces with people that provided toxic alcohol to the public. Also, bootleggers produced millions of gallons of poisonous alcohol. Drinking it can cause blindness or be poisoned. When Prohibition didn’t exist, alcohol was regulated and checked if it’s toxic before being sold to the public. Even when alcohol was forbidden, people still found a way to get their hands on liquor and sold it to the public causing devastation. During Prohibition, the government ordered industrial alcohol companies to add chemicals to alcohol, fuels, and medical supplies, discouraging people from drinking it as a warning. As a result, bootleggers got access to it, offering these low quality alcohol to the public and more than 10,000 people died from drinking it. It’s critical how the government was supposed to stop people from drinking alcohol, but it actually led people to illness or

George Remus’s illegal bootlegging industry and his trial were direct results of the 18th amendment. In attempts to reduce crime and the “evils” of alcohol in the 20th century, the national prohibition act was established without the thought-out reprimands. George Remus is a direct example of the reverse affects that prohibition had on the United States. As crime increased due to this new law, people began to see how much more trouble, crime, hatred, and destruction prohibition had caused. If it were not for prohibition, the illegal possession of alcohol would not be present and the number of criminals and delinquents would not have been as significant. People’s need to make money and their personal desire to drink alcohol backfired on the government. The 21st amendment was seen as a way to make peace, which was what was intended of the 18th amendment but it was

Imagine that you’re having a gathering or party. Everything is ready to go and then you remember that the 18th amendment prohibits you from buying liquor/alcohol. The party was supposed to be a blast, but how can you have a blast without alcohol or liquor. Prohibition was the 18th amendment. It stated that it was illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcoholic beverages in the United States. The Volstead Act added to the 18th amendment almost 9 months after. It added that when the 18th amendment went to affect, it was against the law to barter, import, export, deliver, furnish, or posses intoxicating liquor. Of course, drinking/usage was also banned, except for authorized purposes. Then it was repealed. It was the first, and only amendment in U.S history to be revoked.

Herbert Hoover called it a "noble experiment." Organized crime found it to be the opportunity of a lifetime. Millions of Americans denounced it as an infringement of their rights. For nearly 14 years—from Jan. 29, 1920, until Dec. 5, 1933--the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal in the United States. The 18th, or Prohibition, Amendment to the Constitution was passed by Congress and submitted to the states in 1917. By Jan. 29, 1919, it had been ratified. Enforcement legislation entitled the National Prohibition Act (or more popularly, the Volstead act, after Representative Andrew J. Volstead of Minnesota) was passed on Oct. 28, 1919, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.

The Prohibition in the 1920s, or commonly called the Volstead Act (named after the author Andrew J. Volstead) was a trying time in American History. Also called the “Noble Experiment” by President Herbert Hoover, “because believers

Ratified on January 29, 1919, the 18th Amendment went into effect a year later. By that time, about thirty-three states had already enacted their own prohibition legislation. In October that same year, Congress had passed the National Prohibition Act. This provided guidelines for the federal enforcement of Prohibition. The Representative Andrew Volstead of Mississippi championed this. He was the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation was more commonly known as the Volstead Act.

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this," Albert Einstein. (Internet, quotes on Prohibition, page 1)

Because of the passing of the Volstead Act in 1920, production and distribution of alcohol became an extremely profitable business. With this also came a noticeable rise in organized crime in many of the big cities. Even worse, the crimes committed by members of these gangs became more violent. Soon prisons were overcrowded and were merely hold facilities.

For America Prohibition has been a struggle for her citizens with violence, police, and outraged citizens. Although prohibition has been considered a bad decision on the governments part, many great things have come out of it in which will be explained thoroughly and from both points of view.

The Volstead Act was the prohibition act and was passed on July 22, 1919. Even though many people disagreed with the Volstead Act, it was still passed. It was passed because Americans started to be concerned about the effects of drinking alcohol. For example, “Would stop husbands from spending all the family income on alcohol and prevent accidents in the workplace caused by workers who drank during lunch” (Rosenberg, 2017). This was one of the main reasons why the Volstead Act was passed, women hoped that their husbands would stop spending all their money on alcohol instead of spending it on something important like their family. Also, they were many accidents in factories because men would drink during their break, so they weren’t sober and that caused many accidents. Another reason was because when men were drunk sometimes they would hit their wives and children. Many people were against the Volstead Act, however many people were in favor of the Volstead Act, especially women. For instance, “Women played a strong role in the temperance movement, as alcohol was seen as a destructive force in families and marriages” (history.com). This explains that the main reason for women to be against alcohol was that they saw as if it was the main reason that their

On January 19, 1920, the 18th Amendment was instated, which legally prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" (Document). This law shut down liquor businesses and appears to be banning alcohol in the United States under all circumstances but when analyzed closely, it failed to state that in addition to the ban on the economic side, it was also outlawing the consumption side. The government assumed that due to the widespread knowledge and awareness of the 18th Amendment and its drastic effect on a common material good in society, that the ban on the importation, transportation, and selling of alcohol would indirectly lead to the inability to consume it. This was not the case. A few people discovered the loophole and as a result, the illegal liquor business began booming because though the supply of alcohol decreased, the demand was higher than ever.