Causes And Effects Of Prohibition

As if becoming the decade of the worst economic bust in history, usually referred to as the Great Depression, was not enough, the early 19th century also came to be known as the age of Prohibition. For many years prior to the 1920s, a growing number of people had feared the damage alcohol could do to America. After years of work by organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed and prohibition started on January 16, 1919 and continued until December 5, 1933. Although it was formed to stop drinking completely, it ended up being a resounding failure. It created a large number of bootleggers who were able to supply the public with illegal alcohol.

In January of 1904, the majority of the country was drinking alcohol. Fast-forward thirteen years later on March of 1917, it seemed like some states wanted prohibition before it even started (Document M). Most businesses were suffering because alcohol slowed down the workers when drinking it during the day. Workers had to worry when going to work at night because of the dangers and accidents that took place near saloons.

When President Herbert Hoover, was in office a precipitous drop in the value of the U.S. stock market came crashing downward and signaled the start of the Great Depression. Due to the Jim Crow laws it was hard for even immigrants to survive the Great Depression. Upon this article it was “Around one third of Los Angeles’ Mexican population left the country, as did a third of Texas’ Mexican- born population” (Blakemore). During the years, Latino American’s had to fight to have the same equal right as American citizens. Even through “Mexican’s is willing to work for low wages, they help build the railroads in the 1930’s, American’s were and still is afraid, of foreigners stealing jobs” (Blakemore).

Organizations such as the Anti-Saloon League had argued that violent crime would go down with prohibition, but the effect was clearly the opposite. The prison system saw the same effect from prohibition that violent crime had seen. "The federal inmate population increased 561 percent from the pre-Prohibition period" (tdl.org). The prison systems increase in inmates required an even greater amount of funds from the government, which hurt Americans even more. It created a need for more tax revenue, which threatened the economy and hurt them even more when the economy began to decline in the 1920

The city of Las Vegas has changed rapidly from becoming a beautiful city to a violent place to live in. The city has seemed a rise in homicides as well in the last few years. The strong presences of these gangs are taking innocent lives and making the community a harder place to raise a family in. Many of the gangs in Vegas account for most the drug trade, as well as the staggering homicide rate. The gang problem is not only a problem in Las Vegas, but it is all over the world.

October 29, 1929 was perhaps one of the most dreadful days in American history for its economy. Before “Black Tuesday”, as it was known, stock prices had been dropping. As a result, America experienced a devastating reality known as the Stock Market Crash. Many economists hold the belief that it was caused due to people “buying on margin”. The effects of this were detrimental and quickly lead us into a depression, and not only for America, but around the world as well.

to recover from this depression. The unprecedented occurrences which happened in the late 1920’s and 1930’s caused much to change in America: socially, financially, and politically. Many laws and regulations were passed to prevent something similar from happening in the future, such as the Agricultural Adjustment Organization, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Recovery Administration (Timeline). People who lived during the Great Depression often suffered because of it for the rest of their lives. People were forced to be stingy to survive, and after the depression was over they squandered their money on luxuries and necessities alike.

In the 20s, the American government tried to enforce a ban on alcohol, but in the process, caused “the greatest crime wave in the country 's history, causing thousands of deaths from bad alcohol, and creating a general (and persisting) contempt among the citizenry for the laws of the United States.” Gore also uses logos when he writes that in 1969 the government slightly “curtailed” the supply of marijuana, and this led to kids getting hooked on more dangerous drugs like heroin, and overall increasing the number of deaths. He suggests that the government, and the crime organizations, benefits from making drugs illegal. That way, both sides are able to flip a profit. This also appeals to the audience’s opinion— many Americans distrust the government and have negative opinions about it.

“Well, I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals.” Arguably one of the finest quotes Abraham Lincoln delivered, whiskey is a staple within the young United States. Whiskey ascended rapidly in the expanding society of America consequently becoming a method of payment in the western frontier. The citizens utilized the alcohol for practically everything within daily life, including medicine.

War was absolutely devastating; emotionally and economically throughout the world. Especially after World War I, is was shocking to people because it was the first time anyone had witnessed something so distorting. In America, it changed everyone 's life styles. People became more materialistic and rebellious. The UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History talks about that time period by saying “The novel reflects the outward glitter and the inward corruption of the Roaring Twenties , also known as the Jazz Age, a decade of prosperity and excess that began soon after the end of World War I (1914–18) in 1918 and ended with the 1929 stock-market crash”(656).

By 1932, Americans had reversed the approval and disapproval making the disapproval rating had gone higher. Americans disapproved the prohibition because the criminality and murder went up, business’ were going down and it was impossible to enforce no alcohol. The rate of criminals went up leading to more murders when the Prohibition was enforced. Many criminals such as gangsters, racketeers, bootleggers, and dope sellers got “helped” out by prohibition. Especially in the Great Depression, were alcohol was even more wanted.

A world without alcohol is hard to believe. Most of today 's society wouldn’t be able to wrap their head around it. In the United States prohibition was a nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages it remained in place from 1920 to 1933. When the 18th amendment was passed in the year 1919 America was asking for chaos. With everything that affected the United States during prohibition, it is because of the increase in crime, weak enforcement, lack of respect for the law, and economic suffrage that the 18th amendment was repealed.

By the mid-eighteenth century, tensions between the Native American tribes and English settlers had mounted to an all time high. Mistrust was frequent, as was betrayal. Fighting could break out in a minute, and then be finished the next. Political relationships were broken because of a war and massacre; the economy boomed because of barbaric markets & fur trade. Yet, a lasting effect took place after a war and fruit picking that shattered relations with the tribes for years to come.

Picture this: its the roaring twenties, people were ecstatic about the war being over, but had no idea that there was about to be a cultural civil war among America starting with prohibition. From the end of nineteen eighteen to nineteen thirty three prohibition had its impractical moments and was controverted , and in the end, it became one of the most prominent moments in U.S history J.J Little explains that the Eighteenth Amendment made drinking and selling alcohol illegal(598). The meaning of prohibition was to diminish the drinking of alcohol, and therefor the crime rate would plummet, including poverty, death rates, and the condition of life would become better also boosting the economy. Sadly, this was no help at all (Addiction History 1165). The FPB (Federal Prohibition Bureau) began only to over look the Volstead Act and made sure it was

As stated in Article 232 of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany became angry and humiliated as it was being forced to pay 132 billion gold marks ($367 billion in US Dollars, 2010) over the next 30 years (Doc C). In 1929, these payments were reduced to 112 billion gold marks ($341 billion), but Germany still fell behind on these payments as they were struggling to pay for their own reparations of World War I (Doc C). As Hitler rose to power, he stopped all of the reparation payments and continued to rule Germany in his own reign. The payments required for the reparations of the victorian countries did not allow Germany to strengthen itself, thus allowing anger towards the Treaty of Versailles to lead as a contributing factor of World War