Prohibition Controversy

“By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year – three times as much as we drink today” (PBS, nd). The result was the temperance movement. The Temperance movement was an anti-movement that swept across the country in the 1830s and 40s. The abolitionists tried to show that drinking alcohol was a sin and that the country needed to be cleansed. They called for a prohibition of alcohol. On January 17th, 1920, an amendment to the constitution was passed that banned the making, transporting, and selling of alcohol and other intoxicating beverages.

The Prohibition Era was a period of time when the entire nation was expected to be alcohol-free, or “dry”. In January 1919, prohibitionists achieved the ratification of the eighteenth amendment to the constitution, “forbidding the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors.” The activists in the Temperance Movement had lobbied and pushed for this ratification for decades. Temperance activists consisted of women, church members, and employers. The main concern was centered around the idea that liquor made alcoholics and irresponsible people. The widespread support for the liquor ban was reflected in its approval by more

In 1919, The US ratified the 18th Amendment which is declared illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcoholic beverages. Between from 1920 to 1933 America has promulgated prohibition who drunk because most men drunk in most times even during break time off work. They gradually lost their control and taking abuse, crime on their children. A lot of problems happened in the family like violence, fighting, and the worse thing is the divorce. Drunken men who did not work at all would not be able to afford, provide, and care for their families. America repealed Prohibition for three main reasons during this time: the Volstead Act because it was a law, the act of Congress that helped to prevent people from selling alcohol, illegal but it failed, Progressive Movement because it showed how many serious problems happened behind drinking that affected to life, and social evils of drinking. While there are three main causes, the most significant cause the repeal of Prohibition in America was social evils or consequences of drinking because in (Doc. B) homicides increased which made crime raised and thousands of Americans killed, the scenes of the US government (Doc.D) because the governor violated the law, and depression (Doc. A) because Uncle Sam, the US government worked with gangsters, racketeer, bootlegger, and dope seller.

Between 1900 and 1913 more Americans began to drink more and more alcohol with the production of beer jumping from 1.2 million to 2 billion gallons; three times more alcohol than the average American drinks now.1 Prohibition was a movement sparked by women since women thought they were the ones who suffered the most from the cause of alcohol and women though that alcohol was a threat to a happy family. Women wanted to pass prohibition because many men would go to saloons and go home and be abusive towards their wives and children. Women and other groups eventually got 46 of the 48 states to ratify the 18th amendment on January 16, 1919.2 The 18th amendment on article one says, "...the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited."3 The first article on the 18th amendment is saying that the sale, making, or even bringing liquor into the United States or any of the United States' territory will now be illegal. Prohibition began to show its weakness right away when the United Sates government did not show much support. After the first year of prohibition the American people started to show less support and even led to organized crime. In 1933, the United States Constitution was amended to repeal the 18th amendment in the form of the 21st amendment.4 Even

In the beginning of the Prohibition Era, the supporters of the alcohol ban were met with a pleasing decline in arrest for drunkenness, hospitalizations related to alcohol and the fall of liver related medical problems that were caused by the consumption of alcohol. These statistics seemed to support the tireless campaigning done to prohibit alcohol. This decline in alcohol

In his book, The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition, William J. Rorabaugh makes the argument that early American society was a place where alcohol flowed freely through every level of society. Americans in the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century partook in so widely it was one of the defining characteristics of the culture of the early United States. Using data collected from censuses, surveys, and reports from those who traveled across the country in its early years, Rorabaugh concludes that the drinking in the United States found no barriers with age, sex, race, class, or location. But his assumptions and conclusion are not proved strongly enough by hard evidence and data to be considered a reliable narrative of the early America.

When alcohol is integrated into a society, it is consumed in organized situations that adhere to community norms. Situations such as "family meals…weddings, funerals, ordinations, church raisings, court days, militia training days, corn husking, and haying all required ample amounts of alcohol" (Blocker 4). Alcohol was frequently brewed at home, making it a noncommercial, wholesome drink. The consumption also did not lead to a growing temperance movement because it was difficult to see the drunkards outside where they could be problem. At this point in American history, the drunkards were distributed in isolated farms instead of concentrated streets in cities and towns (Ezell 69 pg 169 of american temperance book). Alcohol was consumed among both women and men, children and adults, and in family or community environments, so it was not seen as an importunate issue within the colonies.

Have you ever remembered the time people against the consumption of alcoholic beverages? It was the temperance movement which began in the early 19th century in order to reduce drunkenness. Nevertheless, the temperance movement promoted government to make the prohibition in the society. Citizens were not allowed to drink the alcohol and banned the alcoholic affected America to maintain their social harmony. Moreover, citizens especially the drinkers’ children developed more slowly and they were more liable to the accident so that the temperance movement can easily educate the alcoholics. For these reasons, the temperance movement should be justified as the most influential event in the U.S. History.

Prohibition had existed way before the whole country grew into chaos and terror trying to ban alcohol throughout United States. It was the act of banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol. In the early 1700s, many colonists directed Prohibition towards the Native Americans. Colonists created local laws that prevented people from selling or trading alcohol to them. They were concerned with their behavior due to alcohol. Although there were laws with the ideas of Prohibition, the laws were not enforced. This allowed liquor trade to continue and created a critical effect on the use of alcohol by Native Americans. In the 1900s, Prohibition did well trying to stop the promotion and the process of alcohol, but caused disruption, crime, and confusion

The temperance movement of the 1800’s compelled Americans to consider the impact of alcohol consumption on society. The temperance movement was one of many reforms taking place during the 19th century. Other reforms taking place in America were women’s rights, abolition, prison and asylum reform, education reforms, and religious awakenings. The common element in all of these reforms is the awareness and desire to improve society and thus American lives. This essay examines the temperance movement and its successes and failures.

“America had been awash in drink almost from the start – wading hip-deep in it, swimming in it, and at various times in its history nearly drowning in it.” 1 This quote proves to be correct, embodying American history beginning with the earliest American settlers to the present day. Keeping this fact in mind, how did the Temperance Movement gain enough strength to legally ban the manufacturing, selling, and transportation of alcohol in 1920? Through the determination and stamina of a multitude of factions throughout America from the early to mid 19th century, into the Progressive Era, federal legislation in the form of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America was passed. Beginning in the mid-1800s and

Prohibition advocates did an impressive job of convincing the American public that alcohol was the root and cause of all their problems. Alcohol was the reason why families were destroyed, why women and children were beaten and why cheques never arrived home. Pro-prohibition posters were used to target men who knew they had a responsibility to look after their families. The news of prohibition also gave the chance for women to defend themselves and preach their rights since many felt that they had been victimized by alcohol. Not only was prohibition trying to target family members but it also challenged the patriotism of fellow Americans. When WWI came about, although it was at that moment a major topic to discuss, prohibitionists saw the war as an opportunity to give back to their brave soldiers by giving up alcohol. Slogans such as “Booze or Coal?” and organized efforts to preserve grain were used to persuade Americans to believe that patriotism and abstinence went hand in hand (Michael Lerner). In fact of August of 1917, the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act put a hold on beer and wine production, as well as prohibiting the sale of beer that contained more than 2.75 percent of alcohol (Michael Lerner). Many prohibition advocates, such as Reverend Billy Sunday, were effective through their speeches in convincing Americans that alcohol and the establishments associated with alcohol were pure evil and went against the morale of the American people.

The introduction of prohibition in 1919 created numerous opinions and issues in American society. Prohibition had been a long standing issue in America, with temperance

In the early 1900’s, many Americans, including women and Anti-Saloon activists, were promoting an “alcohol free society”. These activists believed that alcohol was the cause of high crime and other down falls of American society (Okrent, 2010). A group called the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) soon became one of the biggest contributors to Prohibitionists groups. They contributed money and also ideas that would help to make the idea of an alcohol free country, also known as a dry country, a reality. The ASL toured the country discussing their viewpoints with many different types of people in order to attain the American people support. The ASL discussions really reached out to one person in the crowd especially, Wayne B. Wheeler (Okrent, 2010).

The 18th amendment was ratified by congress on January 16, 1919 in which the selling and distribution of “intoxicating liquors” was banned. That was the start of what many called the dry decade in the United States. Norman H. Clark’s Deliver Us from Evil: An Interpretation of American Prohibition illustrates the struggles to make the dry decade possible and the consequences that followed it. The 235 page text describes how the Anti-Saloon League was determined to make prohibition possible and the struggles they had to overcome. As well as what directly followed once it was a reality.