National prohibition of alcohol (1920-33)--the "noble experiment"--was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. The results of that experiment clearly indicate that it was a miserable failure on all counts.

In the United States, this was done by means of the Eighteenth Amendment to the national Constitution (ratified January 16, 1919) and the Volstead Act passed October 28, 1919). After the repeal of the national constitutional amendment, some states continued to enforce prohibition laws; Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi were still "dry" in 1948. Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect.

Essay discusses the progress and demise of prohibition during the 1920's.

Evaluates prohibition for liquor in the United States

When Herbert Hoover introduced prohibition in 1919 he called it "the noble experiment", presenting it as a law that hoped to curb sin and poverty across America.

Provides a historic background on prohibition.