Prohibition notes - quick rundown PDF

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The Volstead Act implemented and provided an enforcement apparatus for the 18th Amendment that prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors." passed in 1920 the “noble experiment”

CAUSES There was a wide range of economic, political and social reasons for Prohibition.

Pressure from temperance groups and religious groups Organisations that promoted temperance such as the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) campaigned hard for Prohibition. Some religious groups, such as the Methodists and Baptists, joined the crusade. This was because: ● ● ● ●

liquor was seen as responsible for crime and violence; it threatened the breakup of families because men wasted their wages on drink and then abused their wives and children; it affected people’s health; it was seen as against God’s will.

Fundamentalist preachers, such as Billy Sunday, persuaded many conservatives that alcohol was evil.

Attitude of industrialists Businessmen, such as Henry Ford, supported Prohibition because they felt alcohol lessened the efficiency of their workers.

Divisions between brewers and distillers Brewers argued beer was healthy and spirits were harmful in the hope of deflecting criticism from themselves. Thus, there was not a united front by the liquor industry against Prohibition.

Patriotism Most big liquor manufacturers were German, for example Budweiser, and it was seen as unpatriotic (disloyal to the USA) to consume it.

Anti-immigrant feelings Many Americans disapproved of immigrants because of the prevalence of drinking in their communities, such as the Irish, German and eastern European areas. Anti-immigrant feeling was therefore linked to support for Prohibition.

Political considerations Politicians, who often drank in private, supported Prohibition in public because they did not want to lose votes in elections.

Financial considerations of the government Revenue from the relatively new tax on people’s incomes would make up for the loss of money from taxes on alcohol.

LONG TERM / SHORT TERM CONSEQUENCES The impact of Prohibition 1. Prohibition was unpopular and widely ignored. Even President Harding in the White House disregarded it. 2. It resulted in thousands of illegal drinking places, known as speakeasies, emerging, including at the back of barber shops and hair salons and in basements. Soon, there were more speakeasies than there had been bars before Prohibition. In 1929, New York had 32,000. 3. It led to illegal bootleggers, moonshiners and rum-runners. 4. Alcohol-related deaths increased from 98 in 1920 to 760 in 1926. Homemade moonshine often caused death because either it was too strong or it was contaminated. Industrial alcohol, which had poison added to it to discourage people drinking it, was often stolen and resold for drinking, with fatal consequences. 5. Drinking habits changed. There was a shift from beer to spirits because the latter was more potent and less bulky to conceal. 6. It led to an increase in corruption. Bribing of police, judges and politicians was common. Even President Harding’s advisors were involved. 7. Prohibition reduced respect for the law. 8. There was an increase in violence. Between 1926 and 1927, there were 130 gangland murders in Chicago, many of which were linked to Al Capone. 9. Organised crime, for example by the Mafia, expanded. 10. It split the Democratic Party. The “dries” tended to be from the rural south and west, and the “wets” were mostly from urban areas in the north and east. 11. It boosted spending on other items, such as guns and cars. ● bootlegging / rumrunning ● moonshine (alcohol distilled at home in illegal stills) ● speakeasies often ran by gangs

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES a rise in organized crime associated with the illegal production and sale of alcohol, an increase in smuggling, and a decline in tax revenue. ● ● ●

increased inclusivity as people of any race mingled in speakeasies women were encouraged to drink at speakeasies organised crime > al capone > (bootlegger) > more gangs > gangsters made 2B from

bootlegging.

SIGNIFICANCE TO PEOPLE / PEOPLE EFFECT ● ●

before prohibition: men would drink at saloons. after prohibition: men drank at homes, therefore changing the family dynamic whereby they were exposed to the "evils" of alcohol even more so than before....