Why Is The 18th Amendment Important

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The 18th amendment was January 16th, 1919 and took effect on January 17th 1920 to begin prohibition. Prohibition was the ban to distribute, transport, or manufacture alcohol. Prohibition was thought to bring many positive changes to the United States through the extreme limit of alcohol but because quite of few problems instead. Prohibition began right as World War 1 had ended, but in 1917 president Woodrow WIlson had issued a temporary halt to the making of alcohol to save grain. This was done for food purposes only, though when the 18th Amendment was drafted it received its ¾ vote in Congress in only 11 months. Alcohol at this time was thought to cause many problems, such as child abuse, failing families, crime, and bad work ethic. It was thought that banning alcohol would help resolve many of these issues. Groups like the Anti­ Saloon league and people like …show more content…

The economy was anticipated to continue thriving, many people were left with no jobs with the shutdown of breweries and saloons. Many women supported the 18th amendment because they had a suspicion it led to abuse and anger. Although these suspicion may be correct there was a large black market for liquor throughout the 1920’s. Prohibition became know as “The National Experiment” and in 1933 the federal ban on alcohol was lifted. Congress accepted the 21st amendment that would counteract the 18th. Ending prohibition led to economic growth. A few states continued to practice forms of prohibition but all had abandoned it by 1966. Prohibition was a great experiment. It showed us the workings of the black market, and the financial impact of alcohol. The 18th amendment lasted a little over a decade and had measurable impact on America during the “roaring 20’s.” The federal ban on alcohol had many probable reasonings, majority of these predictions were incorrect and had negative

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