Prohibition

Prohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933, attempted to eliminate the consumption of alcoholic beverages but instead created a legacy of bootleggers, flappers, and speakeasies. Widespread crime in American cities and corruption within the Prohibition enforcement agencies resulted. Profits from illegal alcohol and disrespect for the law grew during the period of legislated moral behavior.

The states ratified the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution in January of 1919, and nationwide Prohibition began on January 29, 1920. The Amendment made the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages illegal. The widely accepted Volstead Act provided enforcement of Prohibition and was enacted in October of 1919.

Prohibition had its roots in the temperance movements to reduce alcohol consumption in the 1820s. The state of Massachusetts was the first state to enact prohibition laws when it prohibited the sale of spirits in less than 15 gallon containers. This law passed in 1838 and was repealed two years later. In the 1850s, several states enacted prohibition laws but support for prohibition declined during the Civil War. States maintained jurisdiction over state and local prohibition laws from 1880 to 1914.

The Prohibitionist Party, formed in 1869, began to revitalize the temperance movement to eliminate alcohol consumption. Other reformists such as ministers, physicians, devout middle-class Protestants, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union drove the prohibition movement. The reformers believed drinking caused numerous social dilemmas: social reformers blamed alcohol for poverty, moral decay, and domestic abuse; physicians argued that alcohol caused health problems; and political reformers saw taverns as corrupt establishments. In addition, employers in the new industrial society believed that employees who drank alcohol were lazy, unproductive, and prone to sickness, absenteeism, and on-the-job accidents. Overall, drinking alcohol was deemed an immoral act by prohibitionists.

Although Prohibition initially reduced the amount of alcohol consumed, it also caused an increase in crime. Where the desire to consume alcohol remained, even increased, a new breed of criminal emerged. Millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals because they purchased alcohol. Gangsters, enticed by the potentially huge profits related to distributing and manufacturing alcohol, battled for business and settled market disputes with guns. The bootlegger became an American icon. Bootlegged liquor came across Canada waterways, off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and from the Caribbean Sea. Bootleggers also manufactured liquor in makeshift distilleries and bathtubs. This liquor was often poor in quality and dangerous to one's health. Drinking patterns also changed; sales of hard liquor rose because it was easier to transport, while beer became less popular to distribute.

Drinking became fashionable during these years. Prohibition created an illegal drinking establishment, the speakeasy, which outnumbered the previous legal drinking establishments. Additionally, only women of ill-repute frequented the saloons of pre-prohibition years, but during Prohibition the number of women who frequented speakeasies rose. It was also during this time that the flapper was born.

Anti-prohibitionists argued that prohibition encouraged crime and widespread disrespect for the law. The dramatic increase in crime overwhelmed the criminal justice system. Citizens lost respect for the system and corruption within enforcement agencies thrived. While some enforcement agents took bribes, others could not be bought. The levels of enforcement varied widely between states, with enforcement agents cracking down harder in areas where the prohibition movement was strongest. Lawmakers thought getting tougher on alcohol crimes would help them achieve success; penalties for the sale of one drink increased to five years and thousands of dollars in fines. Federal prisons operated at over 150 percent of capacity, enforcement budgets increased, and more cops were put on the beat, all to no avail.

Support for Prohibition declined during the Great Depression. People believed that ending Prohibition would create alcohol manufacturing and distribution job opportunities. In 1932, the Democratic Party endorsed a repeal on Prohibition and Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt won by a large margin. In February 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment to repeal Prohibition. The states ratified the amendment and national Prohibition ended on December 5, 1933. The 18th Amendment is the only repealed Amendment in United States history.

A few states maintained prohibition after the enactment of the 21st Amendment. In 1966, all states abandoned prohibition laws. After Prohibition ended, liquor control laws were created by localgovernment officials. Prohibition ended when public officials and citizens admitted it had failed, but the negative effects of national prohibition continue to echo in American society. Despite the failure of a national prohibition designed to increase moral behavior and eliminate social ills, many Americans in the 1990s still believe prohibition is the answer. When prohibition ended, emphasis was placed on education and treatment. One could argue that today's drug prohibition is history repeating itself. U.S. society is still divided into wets and drys, users and non-users, the moral and the so-called immoral.

Gray, Mike. Drug Crazy: How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out. New York, Random House, 1998.

Kyving, David E. Repealing National Prohibition. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1979.

Rumbarger, John J. Profits, Power and Prohibition: Alcohol Reform and the Industrializing of America, 1800-1930. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1989.

Sinclair, Andrew. Era of Excess: A Social History of the Prohibition Movement. New York, Harper and Row, 1964.

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