Empathy in Prohibition A certain degree of empathy is required in public policy in order for politicians to understand what would be best for their constituents. In 1919, the United States Congress passed the eighteenth amendment, banning the distribution of alcohol. Prohibition was enacted in order to reverse the saloon embedded culture America was beginning to foster at the time. Leaders of this movement believed the restriction on alcohol would result in decreased crime and a healthier wellbeing for American citizens. However, the prohibition era was rather short, with the repeal of the eighteenth amendment in 1933. In both the beginning and the end of the era, congress members used empathy in the passage and repeal of prohibition because …show more content…
In the midst of such a controversial issue, many newspapers of the time referred to the division of the country as “wets” versus “drys”, referring to the anti-prohibition and the for-prohibition sides respectively. In one particular New York Times newspaper article published in 1930, both sides were asked to answer the same four questions, allowing citizens to debate this affair openly. When posed the question, “Has prohibition made for prosperity?” the dry side argues that, “The eighteenth amendment is recognized by the men and women of our country, the women especially, as the greatest force for the comfort and prosperity of the United States.” However the wet position stated, “Prosperity at the cost of personal liberty is a debatable gain,” meaning that the government had taken away a right from citizens even though America is supposed to stand for freedom (The Debate). Typically, the enforcement of prohibition required those in possession of alcohol to dispose of it, and in a photograph taken during the beginning of prohibition, men are seen pouring an entire barrel of alcohol into the underground sewage system outside of a town police station while being eyed by multiple police officers …show more content…
In order to successfully implement public policy, politicians must utilize empathy with their citizens to give Americans what they desire and need. Without using empathy and understanding what is best for all people, politicians would not have citizens’ compliance. Congress used empathy both in passing the 18th amendment and the repealing 21st amendment. When passing the eighteenth amendment, members empathized with those who wanted to ban alcohol for moral and religious reasons. The 21st amendment required Congress to empathize with citizens who had grown poor and needed jobs to sustain life and to lower the crime
The book “Last Call,” by Daniel Okrent, provides an interesting insight into, as he describes it the “triumphant failures” of prohibition, and the bold display of ignorance that defined the policies governing its enactment, enforcement, and eventual downfall. Okrent takes us into the debates waged between what he repeatedly refers to as wet and dry Americans. Okrent’s remarkably original account, shows readers how the prohibition supporters integrated native fears of immigration, ignorance, and stereotypes in a movement that would in time shaped a decade and even resulted in an unprecedented failure in an amendment of the American Constitution.
Another hope for the eighteenth amendment was to reduce the crime and death rate. Many people felt that drunkenness was the cause of many of the nation's crimes. Prohibitionists felt very passionately about their cause and were often called “dry’s.” They felt their battle was justified and that, “it is manifest destiny that alcohol will not survive the scrutiny,”(Darrow and Yarros, 20).
In 1920 following the ratification of the 18th amendment the country became dry. The 18th amendment made it illegal to manufacture, sell, import, or export drinking alcohol. It would stay this way for a little more than a decade, which became known as the prohibition. Prohibition was a way to clean up the cities and improving the conditions of the US. Prohibition was approved because drinking was thought be a drag on the economy and the leading cause for some of the country's problems such as corruption, child abuse, crime, and unemployment. Fourteen years later in 1932 America had changed its mind and it was repealed. So what changed? The American people had changed their minds about the 18th amendment because crime had increased,
The Prohibition or the Eighteenth Amendment was a huge failure for a law in 1920. There were many factors that led to its downfall that included illegal means, rise of gangsters, and the Twenty- First Amendment. Despite the Prohibition, it did not stop the people from drinking it and accessing it through thousands of speakeasies. It became a most lucrative business for criminals that led to dangerous competition. In 1933, the failed amendment was repealed and most people rejoiced that alcohol was legal again. The Eighteenth Amendment was an experiment that went horribly wrong and did absolutely nothing to bring any positive change. This was proof “that you don’t have to be drunk to come up with a really, really, bad idea.” (Carlson. 141)
Although the temperance movement was concerned with the habitual drunk, its primary goal was total abstinence and the elimination of liquor. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the well-organized and powerful political organizations, utilizing no holds barred political tactics, successfully accomplished their goal. Prohibition became the law of the land on January 16, 1920; the manufacturing, importation, and sale of alcohol was no longer legal in the United States. Through prohibition, America embarked on what became labeled “the Nobel Experiment.” However, instead of having social redeeming values as ordained, prohibition had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, becoming a catastrophic failure.
Even before the 18th Amendment went into effect in January of 1920, many Americans were in support of Prohibition. Supporters wanted America to be a healthier, safer, and more moral country. Alcohol was causing many problems around the United States. Some people were getting drunk on the job, causing accidents. Others were abusive towards their families. Many people began to realize the affects that alcohol was causing to their country. They believed that enforcing a law that would prohibit the manufacturing, transportation, and selling of alcohol would solve many of these problems by making it unavailable.
" First, the adage is a slam. prohibition was a popular step. Supporters of prohibition, who? endorsed the law, believed that it would help the poor because paychecks would not be wasted on alcoholic beverages, which was done. by many people during this time, many of whom had starving children. Many industrial leaders of the time, such as Rockefeller, Ford, and Carnegie, all supported prohibition because they believed that alcohol decreased productivity of workers.
“What America needs now is a drink,” declared President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of the Prohibition. The Prohibition was the legal prohibiting of the manufacture and sale of alcohol. This occurred in the United States in the early twentieth century. The Prohibition began with the Temperance movement and capitalized with the Eighteenth Amendment. The Prohibition came with unintended effects such as the Age of Gangsterism, loopholes around the law, and negative impacts on the economy. The Prohibition came to an end during the Great Depression with the election Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Twenty-First Amendment
The Prohibition Amendment, which took effect on January 16, 1920, outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States and its territories, until its repeal on December 5, 1933. Today, Prohibition is often referred to as the “Noble Experiment” because it was created to reduce the adverse effects that alcohol had on families and society. Excessive consumption of alcohol, primarily by men, often resulted in domestic violence, poor work performance, and wasteful spending of wages on alcohol, which were needed to support families. Although the Prohibition Amendment did decrease alcohol-related consequences, ultimately this legislation should not have been enacted because it led to more organized crime and an increase of economic problems.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many saw alcohol as a cause of instability among communities. To counteract the effects of alcohol on American society, The Temperance Movement, Prohibition Party and many others sought to enact anti-liquor laws that would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. On January 19, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had taken effect and a nationwide ban on alcohol was enacted. This was thought of as a solution to the many problems that America had at the time, but it only made matters worse. The American society had been greatly affected by the Eighteenth Amendment in many negative aspects such as increasing crime and violence, worsening the economy, and much more.
“There'd never been a more advantageous time to be a criminal in America than during the 13 years of Prohibition. At a stroke, the American government closed down the fifth largest industry in the United States - alcohol production - and just handed it to criminals - a pretty remarkable thing to do.-Bill Bryson” The prohibition act,also known as the 18th amendment, was a law that the American Government enforced to ban liquor because congress believed alcohol was a huge factor of a drag on economy. The prohibition took place during the Great Depression era which was between 1920 to 1933. Why was the prohibition of alcohol was repealed? The 18th amendment was repealed for several reasons. The prohibition increased criminal activities, the government can earn money by taxing liquor and it was utterly impossible to control thousands of borders for surveillance.
According to Arianna Huffington in the article “Empathy: What We Need Now”, during hardships and instability of society, empathy is needed to find solutions to those issues. Huffington writes about how empathy is needed in our country in order to produce a positive social change. She begins by giving an example of a movement that Martin Luther King created and how empathy was a part of this movement. King as well spoke of how empathy is the sign of living. To become involved in the situations of humanity in order to improve it, displays that empathy is the core of a human’s existence. After reading this article, I do agree with Huffington about how individuals need to fully understand and put themselves within the situation to fully comprehend the issue to solve.
Probibition during the 1920s is one of the many examples of dichomoty. During Prohibition, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages was restricted or illegal. Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. Instead, Alcohol became more dangerous to consume, organized crime blossomed, courts and prisons systems became overloaded, and endemic corruption of police and public officials occurred. The dichotomy in this is prohibition vs. legalization. Before prohibition went into effect, it was perfectly okay for people to have alcohol. But as the result of decades of effort by the temperance movement, alcohol was prohibited and the eighteenth amendment was adopted to the U.S. Constitution.
“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, death rates, and improve both the economy, and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The prohibition amendment of the 1920's was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased liquor consumption, massive murder rates and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government wasn’t collecting taxes on the multi-billion dollar a year industry.
Prohibition, the greatest thing that has happened, was what most “dry” people thought. Yes, prohibition did stop a lot of people from consuming alcohol. Prohibition helped turn some “wets”, people who consumed alcohol, into “drys”, which were individuals that did not consume alcohol. Unfortunately, there was a huge downside to prohibition. Throughout the times of prohibition, the rate of gang activity that was involved in daily life rose dramatically due to the desire to obtain alcohol despite the fact that it had been made illegal.