Synthesis Essay: The Harmful Effects Of The Prohibition

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The role played by the American government and the lax law enforcement during the prohibition era was, in large part, responsible for organized crime and gangs flourishing so much at the time.

The prohibition act was passed in 1919, but this did not mean that the demand for alcohol would just disappear. What it meant was that a lucrative illegal market could be created and someone would need to give the public what they wanted. According to Source B, this is where organized crime syndicates began vast bootlegging enterprises, some under the leadership of the infamous Al Capone. This lead to an increase in gang related violence and a constant battle for control of the trade. The creation of this kind of market and the repercussions should have been anticipated before this law was passed. Making something so popular illegal made the creation of a black market inevitable. Though well meaning, Prohibition left only a negative impact on the levels of gang related crime in America and the American government is responsible for that.

This market was kept alive by the incompetence and corruption of the local police force. According to Source E, because a large amount of money was being made in the bootlegging business, a lot of it …show more content…

We can see in Source C, that though the law did try to take down organized crime, it was too well protected by both its own form of government: gang rule, and its protection its money gave it by buying off politicians and powerful officials who in turn made no effort to control the rise in organized crime. Source D tells us that 3300 police officers and prohibition agents could not take Al Capone down due to the protection he had bought for himself. This further shows us how ineffective the American government and police force was in demolishing organized crime and it was this ineffectiveness that was responsible for it becoming such a wealthy

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