Prohibition1 essays

Prohibition1 essays As under a spell, the people had suffered this act to be brought to its fatal conclusion, but with the first touch of cold reality the charm was undone, and the law appeared in its true aspect. Brought about by the Eighteenth Amendment and enforced through the Volstead Act, lasted for over a decade. Despite a growing lack of public support for both Prohibition and restraint itself, the ban on alcohol continued throughout the United States-at least in the law books. In practice, however, National Prohibition was much less effective than restraint and Prohibition leaders had hoped, in the end causing more problems than it solved. Once passed, Prohibition directly led to the increase in crime and corruption during the twenties, the public health problems associated with bootleg liquor and alcohol substitutes, the irritated tensions between religious, racial, and social groups, and the political disturbance in response to its existence. Yet in the end, it was the discussion of the supre me public hatred of the Amendment, caused by all of these factors combined, which brought about Prohibitions repeal. Yet Prohibition did enjoy some success. Records reveal that alcohol consumption did initially drop after the onset of National Prohibition and the Volstead Act. However, this decrease on a national level was not all that significant compared to the effect of previous temperance measures in specific communities. Also, after this initial drop alcohol consumption continued to rise steadily throughout Prohibition to the point where it was thought consumption would actually surpass pre-Prohibition levels. The same was true of alcohol related diseases-while initially declining, alcoholism and alcohol-related illness climbed to new heights, all while Prohibition was still in effect (Thornton, Failure 7071). Thus, in the long run, the initial success of Prohibition was soon reversed. Crime, however, was a problem thro...