How Did Prohibition Occur In The 1920s

During the late 19th century, people were starting to look for reasons to blame the society’s issues on. Many people, particularly women, began to blame alcohol. With the idea of making society better, groups and organizations were formed in order to advocate against the consumption of alcohol. In the beginning of the 20th century, many states, particularly in the Bible belt, already had laws that banned the creation of alcohol. These groups petitioned Congress to pass the 18th Amendment to our Constitution. On January 16, 1919, they succeeded and the 18th Amendment was ratified by Congress. The Amendment went into effect exactly a year later in 1920, declaring the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor to be illegal, essentially

There was only around 1500 agents to enforce the Prohibition when the law went into effect in 1920. Those 1500 agents were paid such measly wages that they were easily bribed by the same people they were supposed to be looking for. The Prohibition gave rise to many well-known gangsters. Al Capone was the most notorious. He made his money from running speakeasies and the distribution of alcohol. The racketeering, gangland murders, and organized crime increased greatly and became quite common place during Prohibition. More so than when alcohol was legal. Al Capone claimed he was just a businessman, but between the years of 1927 and 1930, more than 500 gangland murders took place in Chicago alone. The most famous of these gangland murders was the St. Valentine’s Day massacre when Capone’s men killed seven members on rival gangsters Bugs Moran’s gang while Capone himself lay on a beach in south Florida. The American population was not so willing to give up on their alcohol either. Most of the country still demanded the now illegal alcohol. It is claimed that the alcohol business during the Prohibition was so good that $2000 million worth of business was earned between the brewing industry and the bootleggers and gangsters. One popular thing that came from the Prohibition is the unintentional invention of NASCAR. It was originally a group of good ol’ boy bootleggers that were hauling their illegal whiskey to speakeasies and bars that supped up their cars to outrun the law. They would eventually find themselves racing each other on dirt roads to get to a same location. Later on, someone would put these boys on a track after the Prohibition is