Arielle Cruz
The Eighteenth Amendment, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol in the United States, was ratified in 1919 and came into effect in 1920. Despite the amendment, alcohol consumption remained widespread, with millions of Americans drinking liquor illegally, leading to the rise of bootlegging and speakeasies. The Prohibition era is also remembered for the rise of organised crime and gangsterism. After 13 years, the amendment was repealed with the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933 due to various factors, including the impracticality of enforcement, the rise of organised crime, and the need for economic stimulus following the Great Depression.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 1920 |
| Event | End of Prohibition |
| Reason | Prohibition was ineffective and led to rise of organized crime |
| Amendment | 21st Amendment |
| Vote | Ratified by 36 states, ending prohibition |
| President | Roosevelt |
| Economic Impact | Increased tax revenue, creation of legal alcohol industry |
| Social Impact | Reduced crime, improved public health |
| Organized Crime | Led to the establishment of powerful criminal syndicates |
| Public Opinion | Growing opposition to prohibition |
| Legislation | Volstead Act, National Prohibition Act |
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What You'll Learn
- The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol
- The temperance movement advocated for abstinence from alcohol
- Prohibition led to a rise in organised crime and bootlegging
- Enforcement was difficult and bans did not stop people from drinking
- Prohibition damaged the alcohol industry and the economy
The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol
The Eighteenth Amendment, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919. It was the culmination of a decades-long temperance movement, which advocated for moderation or complete abstinence from alcohol. The movement gained traction following the proliferation of saloons after the Civil War, with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) emerging as its most forceful voice in 1873. The WCTU proposed the ban on alcohol as a way to prevent abuse by alcoholic husbands.
The Eighteenth Amendment was enabled by the Volstead Act, which set the rules for enforcing the federal ban and defined prohibited alcoholic beverages. While the amendment banned the production, transportation, and trade of alcohol, it did not outlaw its consumption or possession. This led to the rise of bootlegging, the illegal production and sale of liquor, and speakeasies, secretive drinking establishments that served illegal liquor.
The Prohibition era, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, was marked by unintended consequences. It did not significantly reduce alcohol consumption and instead fostered intemperance and excess. The law also negatively impacted the amusement and entertainment industries, with restaurants failing due to the loss of liquor sales.
The enforcement of Prohibition proved challenging, and the judicial system struggled to keep up with the influx of cases. The rise of organised crime and violent turf battles between criminal gangs further complicated enforcement. The negative economic impact, including the loss of tax revenue from alcohol sales, also contributed to the growing opposition to Prohibition.
By the late 1920s, a new opposition to Prohibition emerged nationwide, and it was eventually repealed with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933. The repeal was supported by Franklin Roosevelt, who was elected in 1932 partly based on his promise to end Prohibition.
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The temperance movement advocated for abstinence from alcohol
The temperance movement, dedicated to promoting moderation and, more often, complete abstinence from alcohol, began at a national level in the United States in the 1820s. It was popularized by evangelical reformers and the middle classes. Initially, there was a focus on advising against hard spirits, rather than abstinence from all alcohol, and on moral reform rather than legal measures.
The movement gained momentum with the publication of "The Simplicity of Health" in 1830, which strongly condemned alcohol use. Temperance Societies began to form, and in 1833, all distilleries in the Kirtland area were shut down. The early movement was characterized by an emphasis on moral suasion, with temperance advocates invoking the right of governmental intervention to curb social and moral disorder caused by drunkenness.
As the movement progressed, a stricter form of temperance emerged, called teetotalism, which promoted complete abstinence from all alcoholic beverages, including wine and beer. The American Temperance Union advocated for total abstinence from distilled and fermented liquors, and by 1835, they had gained 1.5 million members. The Washingtonians, another group within the movement, believed that abstinence communities could be created through sympathizing with drunkards, rather than ostracizing them as sinners or diseased.
The temperance movement became increasingly political during the Victorian period, advocating for the legal prohibition of all alcohol. This shift was influenced by the growing women's suffrage movement, as temperance organizations tended to support women's right to vote, and the abolitionist movement, with which the movement also overlapped. The movement gained international scope with the formation of the first international temperance organization, the Order of Good Templars, in 1851.
The temperance movement played a significant role in the eventual enactment of Prohibition in 1920, which banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. However, it did not result in a lasting decrease in alcohol consumption, and by the late 1920s, opposition to Prohibition emerged nationwide. Economic factors, including the negative impact on the agriculture business and the need for tax revenue from alcohol sales, also contributed to the eventual repeal of Prohibition in 1933.
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![Treasury decisions under the customs internal revenue industrial alcohol narcotic and other laws. v.42 1922. Volume v.42 1922 1922 [Leather Bound]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81nNKsF6dYL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Prohibition led to a rise in organised crime and bootlegging
Prohibition, which began in the United States on 16 or 17 January 1920, banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. However, it did not ban the consumption of alcohol, and alcohol remained widely available throughout this period. The laws gave rise to illicit alcohol trades such as rum-running, bootlegging, and moonshining.
Small-time street gangs quickly took the opportunity to transform into large-scale organised crime syndicates, dominating the illegal "bootlegging" industry. They bribed policemen, judges, juries, witnesses, politicians, and even federal Prohibition agents to ensure the smooth running of their operations. The massive profits from bootlegging allowed gangs to expand their operations, with mobsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano dominating the underworld and forming powerful crime families.
Bootlegging operations used rivers and waterways to smuggle alcohol across state lines. As organised crime syndicates grew throughout the Prohibition era, territorial disputes often transformed America's cities into violent battlegrounds. Gangs learned to be more "organised", employing lawyers, accountants, brew masters, boat captains, truckers, warehousemen, and armed thugs known as "torpedoes" to intimidate, injure, bomb, or kill competitors.
Al Capone, the Mob boss in Chicago, is considered the most infamous gangster and bootlegger of the Prohibition era. At its height in the late 1920s, his criminal operation reached an estimated $100 million in revenue (nearly $1.4 billion in 2016) from liquor distribution, speakeasies, beer brewing, gambling, prostitution, and other rackets. Capone was eventually sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in 1931 after his conviction on tax evasion charges.
The rise in organised crime and the public's dissatisfaction with Prohibition eventually led to its repeal with the ratification of the 21st Amendment on 5 December 1933.
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Enforcement was difficult and bans did not stop people from drinking
The Eighteenth Amendment, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919. However, the amendment did not outlaw the possession or consumption of alcohol, and alcohol remained widely available throughout Prohibition.
The Volstead Act, which provided for the enforcement of Prohibition, contained loopholes that allowed for various schemes to evade the ban. For example, pharmacists were allowed to dispense whiskey by prescription, and bootleggers took advantage of this by running pharmacies as a front for their illegal liquor sales. In addition, millions of gallons of denatured alcohol, which had been mixed with noxious chemicals to render it unfit for drinking, were illegally diverted, "washed", and sold to speakeasies or individual customers.
The enforcement of Prohibition was challenging due to the widespread evasion of the ban and the cat-and-mouse nature of enforcement efforts. The legal system struggled to keep up with the large number of Prohibition cases, and courtrooms and jails became overcrowded. The judicial system resorted to plea bargains to clear cases, which became a common practice in American jurisprudence for the first time.
Despite Prohibition, alcohol consumption remained prevalent, and millions of Americans were willing to drink liquor illegally. By the late 1920s, alcohol consumption had rebounded to about two-thirds of pre-Prohibition levels, and the severe recession of 1920-1921 had made illegal liquor more affordable.
The failure of Prohibition to significantly reduce alcohol consumption and the negative economic impacts of the ban contributed to the eventual repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933.
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Prohibition damaged the alcohol industry and the economy
Prohibition in the United States began on January 17, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act went into effect, prohibiting the sale of alcohol in most of the country. While it was intended to have a positive impact on society by reducing drunkenness and alcohol-related crimes, it ended up damaging the alcohol industry and the economy.
The alcohol industry was a significant sector in the United States, with alcohol sales generating millions of dollars in revenue annually. Prohibition led to the shutdown of over 200 distilleries, a thousand breweries, and more than 170,000 liquor stores. This resulted in a significant loss of tax revenue for the government, which previously collected substantial sums from alcohol taxes. The federal government lost an estimated $11 billion in tax revenue due to Prohibition.
The closure of alcohol-producing companies also put thousands of Americans out of work, causing a ripple effect of economic consequences. The entertainment industry, which relied on legal liquor sales, also suffered losses, with restaurants failing and theater revenues declining.
Additionally, the government had to spend more money to enforce Prohibition and combat the rise in organized crime. The amount spent on enforcing Prohibition doubled from $6.3 million in 1921 to $13.4 million in 1930.
The negative economic impact of Prohibition led to growing opposition to it, and it was eventually repealed when Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932, partly on the promise to end Prohibition. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, and alcohol production and sales resumed, with states regaining tax revenues from alcohol commerce.
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Frequently asked questions
Alcohol did not become legal again in 1920. It became illegal in 1920 and remained so until 1933.
The Eighteenth Amendment, which banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919. The amendment was the result of a temperance movement that had been gaining momentum since the 1820s and was supported by religious groups, women's suffragists, and industrialists.
There were many unintended consequences of Prohibition. It led to a decline in the amusement and entertainment industries, and the illegal production and sale of liquor (bootlegging) and secretive drinking establishments (speakeasies) flourished, leading to increased crime and violence. Prohibition was also a blow to the alcoholic beverage industry and state governments lost out on tax revenue from alcohol sales. Finally, Prohibition ultimately did not result in a significant or lasting drop in alcohol consumption.
