Vivian Marlowe
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Prohibition, was ratified on January 16, 1919, and came into effect a year later. The amendment criminalized the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States, as well as the importation and exportation of alcohol into and out of the country. The Eighteenth Amendment was the culmination of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that banning alcohol would eliminate poverty and improve social issues such as immoral sexual behavior and violence. Despite the amendment, millions of Americans drank liquor illegally, leading to the rise of bootlegging, speakeasies, and organized crime.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendment Number | Eighteenth Amendment |
| Date Passed by Congress | December 18, 1917 |
| Ratification Date | January 16, 1919 |
| Ratification | Achieved when Nebraska became the 36th state to ratify the amendment |
| Enabling Legislation | The National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) |
| Date of Enabling Legislation | October 28, 1919 |
| Purpose | To prohibit the manufacture, sale, transportation, and distribution of alcohol in the United States |
| Impact | Reduction in alcohol consumption, hospitalizations for alcoholism, and liver-related issues; rise in illegal alcohol production, organized crime, and corruption |
| Repeal | December 5, 1933, by the Twenty-first Amendment |
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What You'll Learn
The Eighteenth Amendment
The amendment went into effect on January 17, 1920, one year after its ratification, as stipulated in its text. To enforce Prohibition, the Eighteenth Amendment granted Congress and state legislatures concurrent power to enact appropriate legislation. The National Prohibition Act, commonly known as the Volstead Act, was passed on October 28, 1919, to define the language used in the amendment and establish penalties for producing intoxicating liquors.
Despite the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act, millions of Americans continued to drink liquor illegally. This gave rise to bootlegging, speakeasies, and a period of gangsterism as organized crime syndicates capitalized on the illegal alcohol trade. The amendment also had detrimental economic effects, eliminating jobs in what had been the fifth-largest industry in America.
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The Volstead Act
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks, was ratified on January 16, 1919. The Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act, was enacted in 1919 and came into effect in 1920. The act was designed to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, transportation, or possession of intoxicating liquors within the United States.
While the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment led to a decline in alcohol consumption, particularly among low-income groups, they also had several unintended consequences. Alcohol production and distribution were taken over by criminal gangs, leading to increased violence and organised crime. The act was also difficult to enforce, with many people finding clever ways to evade prohibition agents and local and state authorities refusing to commit the necessary resources.
The public sentiment towards prohibition began to turn during the 1920s, and it was eventually repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.
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The temperance movement
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the temperance movement became prominent in many countries, particularly in English-speaking, Scandinavian, and majority Protestant nations. It eventually led to national prohibitions in Canada (1918-1920), Norway (spirits only from 1919-1926), Finland (1919-1932), and the United States (1920-1933), as well as provincial prohibition in India (1948 to the present).
In the US, the Anti-Saloon League (ASL), founded in 1893, started a campaign in 1906 to ban the sale of alcohol at the state level. Their speeches, advertisements, and public demonstrations claimed that prohibition of alcohol would eliminate poverty and ameliorate social problems such as immoral sexual behavior and violence. The ASL argued that prohibition would inspire new forms of sociability, create happier families, reduce workplace accidents, and improve the world overall. Other groups, such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, also launched efforts to ban the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. These efforts culminated in the Eighteenth Amendment, which criminalized the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the United States.
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Bootlegging and speakeasies
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which came into effect in 1920, banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. This period, known as Prohibition, saw the rise of bootlegging and speakeasies as a result of the high demand for alcohol, which continued to be consumed despite its illegal status.
Bootlegging refers to the illegal importation and production of alcoholic beverages. It became a large-scale nationwide operation during Prohibition, with alcohol being smuggled into the country and distributed through underground networks. The rise of bootlegging led to the emergence of sophisticated criminal enterprises, with gangs such as the Mafia controlling the illicit liquor trade. Chicago's Al Capone, for example, earned an estimated $60 million annually from his bootlegging operations.
Speakeasies were illicit bars or private, unlicensed barrooms that operated during Prohibition. They were often hidden and required a password for entry to ensure that patrons were not associated with law enforcement. Speakeasies were prevalent in urban areas, where opposition to Prohibition was stronger, and it is estimated that for every legitimate bar that closed, six speakeasies opened in its place. By 1925, there were thousands of speakeasy clubs operating in New York City alone.
The exact number of speakeasies is difficult to determine, as they were clandestine establishments. People typically learned about speakeasies through word of mouth, and passwords or other forms of identification were often required for entry. Despite the risks, many citizens ignored the law and continued to drink at speakeasies, contributing to the rise of organised crime during this period.
The Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act, which enabled its enforcement, were controversial because they empowered the federal government to police individual social habits and morality—a role traditionally held by state and local governments. The amendment also led to unintended consequences, such as the rise of dangerous "rotgut" alcohol and an increase in methanol poisoning deaths.
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The rise of organised crime
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which came into effect in January 1920, criminalized the manufacture and sale of alcohol. This period, known as Prohibition, saw a rise in organized crime and the American Mafia as they took advantage of the business opportunity that illegal alcohol provided.
Before Prohibition, criminal gangs were localized and ran protection rackets on neighborhood businesses. However, the need to source and distribute alcohol across state and international borders forced mobsters to work together, forming alliances across state lines and ethnic groups. This led to the creation of sophisticated criminal enterprises that controlled the illicit liquor trade. Gangs also formed mutual protection pacts, and their leaders had to become businessmen, laundering money and making deals with each other to maximize profits.
Organized crime syndicates bribed police and politicians to overlook violations of Prohibition. They also intimidated opposition candidates and funnelled votes to political bosses, who turned a blind eye to their illegal activities. The vast profits from bootlegging and speakeasy operations allowed gangs to expand into other criminal enterprises, such as drugs, gambling, and prostitution.
The government's response to the rise in organized crime was to increase the toxicity of industrial alcohol used to make alcoholic beverages, hoping to discourage consumption. However, this led to thousands of deaths from methanol poisoning. The government also poured millions of dollars into the Bureau of Prohibition to increase enforcement, but the agency was overwhelmed by the rapid growth in crime.
When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the cash grab for criminal enterprises ended. However, the organized crime syndicates that had formed during this period remained, shifting their operations to other criminal activities and profiting from the Great Depression by offering loans. Thus, Prohibition inadvertently gave birth to one of the nation's worst criminal traditions.
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Frequently asked questions
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Eighteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919.
The Eighteenth Amendment, also known as Prohibition, was successful in reducing alcohol consumption, alcohol-related hospitalizations, and drunkenness arrests. However, it also led to the rise of organized crime and bootlegging as people turned to illegal avenues to obtain alcohol.
The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933, by the Twenty-first Amendment.
