Essay about The National Dry Law: The Prohibition Time

The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition is a very interesting book written by W.J. Rorabaugh which anlyze the high prevalence of alcohol consumption in United States during the early 19th century. When he explains how he started writing the book, he said that when he was looking for a long essay in a particular subject he came across a lot of temperance pamphlets from the 1820’s and 30’s. That is the starting point of writing the book for him. He has stated in the preface Ix that Americans drank more alcoholic beverages percapita than ever before or since between 1790 and 1830. He has mentioned

“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

The desire to control alcohol consumption, or advocate temperance, has been a goal of humanity throughout countless periods of history. Many countries have had organized temperance movements, including Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Poland, and of course, the United States. The American temperance movement was the most widespread reform movement of the 19th century, culminating in laws that completely banned the sale of all alcoholic beverages. The movement progressed from its humble local roots to nationwide organizations with millions of members and large amounts of political power. The growth of the temperance movement resulted from the changes in society between the original American settlers and the post-Revolutionary War

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

People in the early 19th century, which the period following the America revolution that people drank a large excess of the alcohol. Because of this, many economic and social problems happened at that time. For example, there caused a vast amount of traffic accidents and the violence. Also, if it happens to the family members, such as men who are the workers, it will primarily affect the family incomes and the development of their children. Therefore, the temperance movement

The Temperance Movement in Antebellum America was one of the largest moral reforms of in 1800s. Several members of the community fought for the prohibition of alcohol, rather than just limiting the about being consumed. However, “many farmers argued that the society and its desire to eradicate King Alcohol—as temperance advocates often termed alcoholic beverages—were a scheme to deprive the people of their liberty." Starting with main in the 1851, twelve states and territories outlawed the consumptions of alcohol. Temperance leaders came about and the movement created many different temperance groups that later used an assortment of tactics and persuasion to get their points across such as political, art, and even education. “During the first great wave of temperance protest lasting from the 1830s through the 1850s, working-class radicals and union organizers had urged temperance as necessary to both self-improvement and resistance to workplace oppression.”

The desire to control alcohol consumption, or advocate temperance, has been a goal of humanity throughout countless periods of history. Many countries have had organized temperance movements, including Australia, Canada, Britain, Denmark, Poland, and of course, the United States. The American temperance movement was the most widespread reform movement of the 19th century, culminating in laws that completely banned the sale of all alcoholic beverages. The movement progressed from its humble local roots to nationwide organizations with millions of members and large amounts of political power. The growth of the temperance movement resulted from the changes in society between the original American settlers and the post-Revolutionary War

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 and United States Society in 1920's Prohibition was the legal ban on the manufacture and sale of alcohol. It was introduced in 1919 and was viewed as the answer to many of America's problems. It was thought that the end of alcohol in America would spark a new and greater society in America. People believed that it would reduce crime, drunkenness, violence and that it would reduce families in poverty because the men would not go out spending all the money on 'alcohol.'

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.

“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,

During the late eighteenth century, reformers and politics debated the sale of alcohol for many reasons. Issues such as prohibition caused many individuals to engage in politics and propaganda sometimes took the focus off the real problems. President Cleveland won the election in 1884 for the Republican Party, it was said to have been because of a quote by a Republican clergyman. Directed primarily toward Democrats, it labeled them the party of “rum, Romanism, and rebellion.” In 1850 annual consumption of beer had reached up to 2.7 gallons per capita but had risen dramatically to 17.9 gallons per capita in 1880. (Nash and Jeffery 578) Drinking, by then, had been considered a serious social problem by progressives and reformers. In cities,

      During the decade of the 1920's, America was going through many changes, evolving from the Victorian Period to the Jazz Age. Changing with the times, the young adults of the 1920's were considered the "Lost Generation". The Great War was over in 1918. Men who returned from the war had the scars of war imprinted in their minds. The eighteenth amendment was ratified in 1919 which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of liquor in the United States. Despite the eighteenth amendment, most people think of large, lavish parties when thinking about the 1920's. The nineteenth amendment was passed in 1920 which gave women

This major event divided the country in two; You were either a “Wet” or a “Dry”. The “Wets” were the citizens who were against the Eighteenth Amendment. This group was all for selling and drinking alcohol, they enjoyed it. The “Drys” on the other hand, were for this law. The “Drys” agreed that heavy drinking should be banned. In 1919, the “Wets” consisted of about fifty-three percent of the states in the