Illegal Activities as a Result of Prohibition

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While the Eighteenth Amendment, federally enforced prohibition, was ratified on January 16th, 1919; thirty three states had already been enforcing their own prohibitions for much longer. Prohibition was so widely accepted because of the awful effects it was having on the general populace. Throughout the history of the United States alcohol had a place in everyday life. It was not uncommon for it to be had at every meal, and there were even drinking breaks much like the smoke breaks we have in this day and age.(A Nation Of Drunkards. Prohibition: Roots of Prohibition. PBS, n.d. Web.) The staggering amount of alcohol abuse, mainly by men, wrecked havoc on the home lives many; either by lacking income as it was being spent on alcohol, or by domestic abuse. Temperance groups such as Women’s Christian Temperance Union; which fought for women’s rights as well as their dreams of a dry country, and the later Anti-Saloon League strived to get congress to pass an amendment that would abolish the manufacture, distribution, and sale of all liquor. The ASL grew in strength and became a particularly powerful social and political influence, and soon the amendment was ratified. The idea was noble, and for a just cause, however prohibition had the opposite effect than was anticipated. Rather than being the “The great social and economic experiment”(The New Day; Campaign Speeches of Herbert Hoover) that it was supposed to be, it increased crime rates and allowed for the formation of crime syndicates who would make millions in illegal liquor sales through, bootlegging; the illegal production of alcohol, and rum-running; the smuggling of liquor into the United States that was legally produced elsewhere.
Alcohol was outlawed from its manufacture to it...

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...nal Prohibition to Be Disastrous and Called for Repeal." Alcohol Problems and Solutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Hoover, Herbert. The New Day; Campaign Speeches of Herbert Hoover, 1928.Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1928. Print.

McClary, Daryl C. "Olmstead, Roy --- King of King County Bootleggers." HistoryLink. N.p., 13 Nov. 2002. Web.

Meredith, William A. "Prohibition: The Great Experiment." Prohibition: The Great Experiment. The University at Albany, 29 Apr. 2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Newsome, Eric. Pass the Bottle: Rum Tales of the West Coast. Victoria, B.C.: Orca Book, 1995. Print.

"Roy Olmstead." Roy Olmstead. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013. .

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