The Election : A Good Day For The Nation 's Oldest Third Party

Prohibition had been tried from a lot of time as temperance movements, the movements that tried to stop the alcohol consumption started in the latest 1700’s. The first group that wanted temperance was made by a group of Litchfield, Connecticut in 1789. Evangelical Protestants mainly formed these groups; however, they wanted moderation for preventing drunkenness. The ones who were most affected by

As i told the prohibition party had their greatest success in 1919, where they succeeded in passing the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This Amendment actually outlawed production, sale, transportation, import and export of alcohol. It was only legal when used for religious purposes. After one year from the ratification of this article 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.

This paper discusses one of the most significant events of the 1920s and 1930s that still affects life to this day, the prohibition. Throughout the modern American, who may be interested in the prohibition and why organized crime was so powerful, discover just that as well as why the prohibition was implemented, who had the most influence, how people viewed one another at the time, and the factors that lead to the prohibitions lack of success. It was a time of struggle between law enforcement, organized crime and the citizens caught in-between. Overall the main question the collective research intends to answer is “who held all the power, the police, organized crime, or the citizens and how did that shape the prohibition?” The answer to the question will be discovered through research and facts. Topics such as motivations behind the prohibition, police efficacy, citizen involvement, organized crime, the morals of America, and multiple views on the prohibition will be covered in hopes to fully understand what the prohibition was and the roles specific groups had in the outcome.

Prohibition was undertaken to reduce crime, reduce corruption, and solve social problems in America but it failed on all accounts. Prohibition had the exact opposite effect on people than its original purpose was. Instead of removing alcohol from society, Prohibition actually instigated a national drinking spree that held constant until Prohibition was repealed. Felix Von Luckner said, “My observations have convinced me that many fewer would drink were it not illegal” (Von Luckner, 2). He believed that the law against alcohol manufacturing just instigated more drinking. The people during this period in time were so rebellious that they would do the opposite of anything that they were told to do. This had a huge contribution to the failure of Prohibition. Due to the failure of Prohibition, America’s society had fallen spiral to a drinking spree (Batchelor, 1). Many believed that the main cause of the failure of Prohibition was the breakdown of the enforcement agencies. In Hearings before the Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia said, “The Prohibition Enforcement Unit has entirely broken down. It is discredited; it has become a joke…” (La Guardia, 2). The Roaring Twenties’ prosperity was lost due to the failure of the Prohibition Enforcement Unit. If the law was stronger and better enforced, Prohibition could have succeeded. This was very detrimental to society because it showed the

The concept of prohibition was nothing new in 1919; it was part of the social reform movement that had been growing for nearly a decade, known as the temperance movement. It was similar to the movements of the middle of the 19th century, but differed from the ecclesiastical “Great Awakenings” that had surged periodically through the American colonies since their settling. Although it diverged in scope from these other movements they still shared a similar connection in goal, that of a “Dry” nation. By 1857, thirteen states had laws prohibiting the selling of alcohol within their borders. Following the Civil War, the desire for reform had lost its luster and a general yearning for normalcy gripped the nation. Thus the drive for alcohol prohibition lost most if not all its steam. However, near the turn of the century, it was once again gaining momentum. The growing middle class of the early 20th century introduced the Republic to a new breed of ideals in the form of the Progressive Movement. The Progressives viewed the power of the states as their platform to accomplish their goals. With strong supporters such as future U.S. President Woodrow Wilson they hoped to meet little or no resistance to their plans for the future and they utilized the law to the

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

18. Anti-Masonic party. Went against Masonic party (Jackson and clay were part of). Short lived. First to hold national nominating convention; quickly adopted by other political parties.

The Know-Nothing Party, also known as the American Party, was a secret party that was very well known and came from middle class and working class backgrounds. I was a political group from the United States between the years of 1840’s to the early 1850’s. This group was an anti-immigration group that also opposed followers of the Catholic church. Some of the members believed that the Catholics had intentions of taking over the United States. The intent of the group was to keep Catholics and immigrants from holding any political offices. They were also against them holding jobs, being business owners felt that you needed to be true Americans. In 1854, the group officially became the Know-Nothing Party and became very popular in the North because

Corruption and hypocrisy flooded the Congress building rooms and hallways. The men that created the Prohibition law, violated it. In the article The Inside of Prohibition, Mabel Willebrandt provides insight of the corruption through personal experiences. Concealed by the walls of the Congress building, “bootleggers infest the halls and corridors... and ply their trade”. The Congressmen must feel as though they are above the law, constantly “patronizing bootleggers” and “appearing on the floors in a drunken condition”.

In the 1920s, it quickly became increasingly unmistakable that the Progressives’ “Noble Experiment” with the prohibition of alcohol had failed.

The first source of historiography is Prohibition in Washington D.C written by Garrett Peck. The main focal point of this text is analyzing how wet American’s were during prohibition, especially in our nation’s capital. Peck’s argument throughout the text was that America was not as dry as the temperance movement believed it was. Peck’s argument has been particularly true for the Elites of Washington D.C. Our elected representatives were the group most opposed to prohibition in the United States. Peck makes many references to the hidden history of prohibition in Washington D.C. The numerous statues dedicated to prohibition and the historic speakeasies line the streets of Washington D.C. to this day. Most of the statues and speakeasies are forgotten

In “Scaring a Nation Dry: Propaganda in Prohibition,” Kimberly Hickey provides a detailed essay about the distribution of misleading information about alcohol in the United States during in the twentieth century. Hickey affirms that prohibition groups emerged decades prior to the law’s enactment. (2) Hickey states, “The enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment marked the beginning of the era of “the noble experiment.” The experiment, as President Herbert Hoover referred to it, was an attempt to limit the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol in the United States.” (4) By referring to the law as the “noble experiment” implies that this law set a standard as to how citizens should act. Therefore, making ethical claims that intoxication

The Prohibition also brought forth another political change during the Jazz Age. It involves the association “of the liquor and brewing industries in debates over suffrage. These industries opposed suffrage, fearing that female voters would favor prohibition”. (McCammon, 55) Key players in these industries knew that should the prohibition laws get passed, it would be a serious setback for them economically. Not only did they work hard to convince the public to oppose suffrage, but greatly urged politicians to vote against it. However after the prohibition laws were passed, the opposition towards suffrage by these industries subsided. McCammon (2001) theorized that “the waning of economic resistance to suffrage provided “space” for political

Clark analyzes and critiques Prohibition not as a historical moment, but as a movement. This book is very well researched and a thorough bibliography is

This book still today has a wide variety of concepts and ideals that are still talked about today, such as alcohol should still be legal or not. Lewis, M. (2008.) Access to Saloons, Wet Voter Turnout, and Statewide Prohibition Referenda, 1907–1919. Cambridge University Press. 32, 3, 373-404.