Prohibition

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Prohibition
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19th Century Background for Prohibition

• Second Great Awakening sought to remake society
  in God's image.
• This sentiment extended to civic life with the
  formation of thousands of Temperance societies.
• Successful in reducing consumption and
  encouraging stricter state regulation of alcohol.
  

Lyman Beecher was a famous social activist of the
day who was particularly concerned about the
negative impact of alcohol on society.
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The Womens Christian Temperance Union

• The WCTU fought for prohibition and progressive
  reform.
• Focused on suffrage, the 8-hour work day, prison
  reform, and the Social Gospel.

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Temperance Cartoons
In the 1850 engraving, "The Drunkard's Home," a
cowering family in a squalid home is subjected to
the whims of a brutal patriarch.By contrast, the
1850 engraving, "The Temperance Home," depicts a
scene of domestic harmony, order, affection, and
material comfort.
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The Volstead Act

• The 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919 and took
  effect in 1920.
• The Volstead Act clarified the new rules
  surrounding prohibition.
• President Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act on
  constitutional grounds.
• His veto was overridden by Congress.

Special stamps were required for medicinal
liquors under the Volstead Act.
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Songs of Prohibition

• Speakeasies (illegal bars)
• Bootlegging (smuggling of alcohol)

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"A Noble Experiment"

• The sale, transport, and consumption of
  intoxicating beverages became illegal.
• Many law-abiding Americans defied the
  regulations.
• The black market for alcohol was a boon for
  organized crime.

Detroit police discover a clandestine still
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Al Capone

• By 1927 he was earning some 60 million a year
  from bootlegging.
• His gang was like a private army. He had 700 men
  under his control.
• He was responsible for over 500 murders.
• On 14th February 1929, Capones men dressed as
  police officers murdered 7 members of a rival
  gang. This became known as the Valentines Day
  Massacre.

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SUPPORT FADES, PROHIBITION REPEALED

• By the mid-1920s, only 19 of Americans
  supported Prohibition
• Many felt Prohibition caused more problems than
  it solved
• The 21st Amendment finally repealed Prohibition
  in 1933

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The 21st Amendment

• Prohibition was unenforceable.
• Many deaths occurred from bootleg liquor.
• Political corruption increased.
• Smuggling grew out of control.
• During the Depression the potential jobs and tax
  revenue from the legalization of liquor was
  increasingly attractive to struggling Americans.

• Thus, in 1933, the noble experiment of
  Prohibition came to a close with the ratification
  of the 21st Amendment

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GOVERNMENT FAILS TO CONTROL LIQUOR

• Eventually, Prohibitions fate was sealed by the
  government, which failed to budget enough money
  to enforce the law
• The task of enforcing Prohibition fell to 1,500
  poorly paid federal agents --- clearly an
  impossible task

Federal agents pour wine down a sewer
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Organized Crime

• The enormous profits to be made attracted
  gangsters who started to take control of many
  cities.
• They bribed the police, judges and politicians.
• They controlled the speakeasies and the
  distilleries, and ruthlessly exterminated their
  rivals.

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Homework Questions

• Question one
• What were some of the effects of Prohibition?
  Describe both the positive and negative effects.
• Question Two
• Does the government have the right or ability to
  restrict a citizens personal choices? Can you
  think of any examples that support your argument?
• Answers be in complete sentences and needs to be
  at least one paragraph.