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The prohibition of alcohol in the United States is one of the History topics people always had the biggest debate about in History class. Even though the use of alcohol is legal today, a percentage of today’s population believes the use of alcohol should be lowered to the age of eighteen. The other percentage of the population believes the consumption of alcohol should be held at twenty-one if not longer. I am one of those who make up the percentage of today’s population who thinks the drinking age should not be lowered. “Lower the drinking age” by Radley Balko and Phil Perez’s article “Lowering drinking age limit to 18 might be seen on next year’s ballot” are two articles which further support my points of view.
To begin, just like the use
Assess the view that the policy of National Prohibition (1919-33) created more problems than it solved.
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 In 1933, the failed amendment was repealed and most people rejoiced that alcohol was legal again.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)
In 1920 congress began what was called "The Noble Experiment". This experiment began with the signing of the eighteenth amendment of the constitution into law. It was titled by society as Prohibition. Websters dictionary defines prohibition as: A prohibiting, the forbidding by law of the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquors. Prohibition can extend to mean the foreboding of any number of substances. I define it as a social injustice to the human race as we know it.
“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
Primarily, the drinking age should be lowered to teach responsibility and safety in young adults. The idea seems paradoxical; however, the high drinking age that is present in the U.S. today has only pushed underage drinking underground (Balko 458). In fact, America has the highest minimum drinking age in the world (Balko 459). Even though the American drinking age remains high, America still remains with an astonishingly large number of alcohol-related accidents and deaths. Is this statement a coincidence? Throughout the years alcohol has become more and more of an issue in young adults, but the correct actions are not taking place. If alcohol were to legally be put in the hands of Americans eighteen and above, these individuals would likely be forced to learn a sense of safety and responsibility. As stated by Caryn Sul...
There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen like most of the world or if it should stay at twenty-one. Underage drinking has been a major controversial issue for years, yet why is it not under control? Teenagers are continuing to buy alcohol with fake identification cards, drink, get into bars, and drink illegally. As a teen, I have proof that these things are going on not only in college but in high school as well. There are a lot of factors that come together to why the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen; the most obvious reason is that too many people are drinking before they are twenty-one.
One of the greatest debates of the world is the legal drinking age of adolescents. In some counties there is no legal age, however in others the, legal drinking age is extremely high. Because the age restriction is different all around the world, it leads to an immense debacle. In today’s society, it is necessary that the United States government lowers the drinking age from 21 to 18. The world nowadays is enormously different from when they first changed it, causing the age to not correlate with today’s society. In addition, there are numerous other legal rights 18 year olds have that make the drinking age stand out. If the legal age for drinking was lowered then the outcomes will be positive, for example, there would be less illegal drinking
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.
According to research done by SUNY Potsdam, the mean drinking age around the world is 15.9 years old, the majority of countries (62%) have a drinking age set at 18 years old, and only seven countries, including the United States, have a drinking age of 21 (potsdam.edu). Does the United States government not see a trend here? Having a drinking age of 21 years old is outdated and unrealistic, and the rest of the countries around the world have come to realize this. Many American’s today have a liberal stance on this issue and agree it is time for a change. Liberals believe that the government should cooperate with the ever changing culture and follow the lead of many other countries who have successfully adopted a minimum drinking age of 18. On the other hand, conservative groups such as MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) believe that changing the drinking age of 21 is right and no change is needed. Despite the strong resistance from certain groups such as MADD, I believe Congress and the rest of America should consider lowering the drinking age to 18 because 18 year olds are already technically considered adults, disallowing 18-21 year olds to drink only increases unsafe “underground” binge drinking, and by changing the drinking age to 18 more safety precautions can be taken to avoid harm from drinking. I suggest the U.S. Congress should overrule their initial National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 and change the age from 21 to 18.
Adolescence is a time for teens to grow and mature into young adults. However, sometimes growing up takes a wrong turn when illegal substances are involved such as alcohol. Underaged drinking increases the risk for academic failure, and illegal drug or tobacco use. Underaged drinking also increases the risk for crime, health problems, and death. In 1984, an act was put in place to raise all fifty states’ minimum drinking age to 21; this act unfortunatley does not completely prevent underaged drinking, however it has helped save approximately 17,000 lives from alcohol related fatalities (Get Involved). Alcohol is a poison, and by lowering the legal drinking age to eighteen, you will be supporting the annihilation of our nation.
What were the unintended consequences of alcohol prohibition in the United States in the 1920’s? In this investigation, the focus will be on the time frame 1920 to 1933, from when the 18th amendment was passed to when alcohol prohibition was repealed. The pros and cons of national prohibition of alcohol in the aspects of health, financial, and social results will be weighed. This will be done through the interpretation of statistics from before and after prohibition, insights of those who lived through the time period, and apparent reasons for the repeal of the amendment. The main type of source used was secondary source journal articles authored by scholars concerning the outcome of prohibition.
Economic and Social Effects of Prohibition There are many ways in which prohibition of alcohol consumption in the United States of America, damaged the very economic and social aspects of American culture, that it was. designed to heal the body. “Prohibition did not achieve its goals”. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.”
The Prohibition was started in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment was ratified. This leads to many disruptions in America. The 18th Amendment caused many people to become upset with the government. The 18th Amendment was the prohibition of alcohol but was this Prohibition really good for this country? This research paper will tell the positives and negatives of the Prohibition and the overall effect on the country. There are many arguments to both oppositions. This paper will be focusing more on the negative points of the argument. The Prohibition was put into effect on January 16 1920. There was very few people that supported The Prohibition. US leader and temperance movement groups supported it. Many People opposed the Prohibition including, the average citizen, teenagers, and the mafia.
Despite the problems that would arise, many people are beginning to feel that the drinking age should be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen. Studies have been made; however, no hard evidence suggesting lowering the minimum drinking age would help have surfaced. Although there are countless studies of how alcohol has many harmful effects on teenagers, there is a great deal of negative criticism about what if the drinking age is lowered. Some would say the morally right decision is to not allow teens the chance to hurt themselves. Everyone is entitled to having his or her own opinions and beliefs. However, the overall health of the youth of our country seems a little more important than some personal belief. The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact drunk driving, juvenile delinquency, and alcohol-related medical issues related to teens will increase.
When people think about alcohol, they think about a strong colorless volatile flammable liquid that is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits, and other drinks. I strongly oppose the use of this beverage because this can be a very dangerous beverage to teenagers and adults. Alcohol has caused a lot of problems in the economy, and if people continue to misuse alcohol the number of deaths from alcohol will increase instead of decreasing. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics in 2011, the amount of 9,878 people died in drunk driving crashes, one every 53 minutes. Alcohol should be banned because alcohol is a really dangerous beverage which has brought a lot of sorrow and tragic stories to a lot of people’s lives and families, through driving, partying and making bad decisions.