The Failure of the Prohibition Act of 1920

While temperance organizations praised the passing of the 18th amendment as a moral victory and the result of a long battle, many people were not so happy. Most citizens saw this law as a violation of their civil liberties and freedom and protests quickly began. Almost just as quickly, criminality began taking the law in their own hands as six gunmen hijacked a train and stole $100,000 worth of medicinal whiskey in Chicago.

On January 16 of 1920, The 18th amendment went into effect. The 18th amendment restricted the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition, as this time came to be known, did not end until December 5, 1933, when the 21st amendment was passed and ratified, ending National Prohibition. Supporters of Prohibition believed that it would help control social problems and economic problems as well. What Prohibition did was the totally opposite, Prohibition became a failure. Prohibition led to an increase in organize crime because violent criminals rose to powers, alcoholic-related crimes increased, and more politicians and police officials became corrupt.

The Prohibition Amendment took effect on January 16, 1920. The eighteenth Amendment outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States until it was repealed on December 5, 1933. The excessive amount of alcohol consumed primarily by men often resulted in violence, poor work performance, and wasteful spending of wages on alcohol, which were needed to support their families. Although the Prohibition Amendment did decrease alcohol-related felonies it created more organized crime and an increase of economic problems.

Prohibition was passed as the 18th amendment, that importing, exporting, transporting, and manufacturing of alcohol was to be put to an end. Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems that it intended to solve. It was expected that the decrease in alcohol consumption would in turn reduce crime, poverty, death rates, improve the economy, and the quality of life.

During the 1920’s there was an experiment in the U.S. “The Prohibition”, this experiment, made by the government, was written as the 18th amendment. The prohibition led to the bootlegging, increase in crimes, and gang wars.

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

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

The 18th Amendment was removed from the Constitution and replaced by the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. It was added because the government was also suffering from the Great Depression at that time. By removing Prohibition, the government would get taxes from alcohol sales, jobs would be created, and it would decrease the costs of law enforcement for Prohibition. The 18th Amendment was the only amendment that was ever abolished in the U.S. Constitution. An amendment is supposed to stay in the Constitution forever and acts as a law that is protected by the federal government. When the 18th Amendment was removed, it shows that the government thinks that it wasn’t effective. Organized crime made money from selling the alcohol and increased crime throughout U.S. After years, lawmakers agreed that prohibition was not effective but also dangerous to many laws and caused many crimes concerning the safety of the citizens. Thousands were called back to work for alcohol companies. More than 5,000 new jobs are predicted as a result of repeal and many celebrated the downfall of Prohibition. After 13 years trying to stop use of alcohol among the citizens, Prohibition was not success, but rather

The 18th Amendment dealt with prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol. This amendment was ratified by the U.S. government and was probably one of the most futile proposals they could have ever came up with. The 18th amendment should have never been approved because it just gave Americans an alternative to break the law. Also, the government itself lost a great deal . Americans would ,in a sense, never give up alcholol, leaving the American government helpless with no other decision then to repeal the ban.

During 1919, along came Amendment 18 to the Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, transport and sale of intoxicating liquor. Proponents of Prohibition had great expectations that this Amendment would alleviate social problems while

January 1920, the opening year of the 18th Amendment that sought banning “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States and its US territories. Many Americans relate this era with speakeasy, public law breaking, and a public disregard for the establishment of prohibition. The 18th Amendment was the first constitutional amendment that sought to limit the rights of citizens and their rights to drink. This would become an attempt that many would soon come to realize as one of the greatest failures in law enforcement in American History. For if an American wants to drink, those with the American spirit for rebellion will surly offer him one.

“Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty,

In 1920 the 18th amendment to the U.S. constitution went into effect, banning alcohol and beginning prohibition in America. Its supporters vilified alcohol; they claimed that alcohol was an ineffective way to escape pain, that drinkers were slaves to the drink, and that alcohol causes men to revert back to a brutish state. Fitzgerald, however, uses The Great Gatsby as an argument against prohibition. It defends alcohol, condemns the institutions which support prohibition, and encourages those who are willing to break the law.

The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors. This ushered a period in the American history. This was known as Prohibition. Prohibition was difficult to force during the first decade of the 20th century. Bootlegging is the illegal production and sale of liquor. The increase of bootlegging, speakeasies, and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition. In 1933, the Congress had adopted a resolution. They proposed a 21st Amendment to the Constitution, which would repeal the 18th Amendment. The prohibition era came to a close by the end of that year.

Prohibition not only failed to prevent the consumption of intoxicating liquor, but also led to extensive production of unregulated, untaxed and very harmful alcohol. With more violence, political corruption and the creation of organized crime, the amendment was finally overturned when Utah, the thirty-sixth state needed to ratify the 21st amendment came forward and agreed on December 5, 1933. Amazingly, many people today still believe Prohibition was a success. With so much corruption and depravity, failure seemed inevitable, but how would history and the present have differed if the law were never amended?