Prohibition+in+the+1920's

The 18th Amendment:
 Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. Section 2 states both the States and the Federal Government have the ability to enforce this law. Section 3 says that in order to go into effect, this Amendment must be radified within 7 years. The 18th Amendment was passed on January 16, 1919. However, it was annulled in 1933 with the 21st Amendment. The 18th Amendment is the only Amendment to have ever been revoked.**
 * In Section 1, it says that one year after this Amendment is ratified, it is illegal to buy, sell, make or transport any alcoholic beverages anywhere in the United States.

The 21st Amendment:
Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. Section 2 tells people that in order to transport alcohol into any State or Territory of the United States, they have to follow the laws of the State or Territory they want to enter. In Section 3, it states that Congress has to have the Ammendment ratified within 7 years. The 21st Amendment ammendment was passed on February 20, 1933.**
 * Section 1 takes away the 18th Amendment.

The law was supported by many women, fundamental religious groups and southern whites who wanted to keep alcohol away from blacks. It also helped combat the stereotype of Western towns with the saloon as the center and drink and prostitution going hand in hand. During Prohibition, people did save more money and people went to work more often because they were not hung over.



The 18th amendment really caused what it was set up to prevent. When the 18th amendment was put into action the crime and drinking rates went up rather than down. People went out of their way to get a hold of liquor. Bootleggers would smuggle it from other countries and even produced their own. People found creative ways to hide liquor to keep a hold of it like putting them in different flasks, hollow books, and other methods they could think of.
 * Against Prohibition-**

During the 1920's when prohibition became prevalent speakeasies were developed as a way around the 18th amendment. Speakeasies were underground establishments where people could obtain alcohol. It is said that by the middle of the decade their were about 100,000 speakeasies in New York City. While speakeasies were illegal and added to the rise in drinking rates there were economic benefits for owners. They were quite popular and owners could make a good profit if they ran it right. Owners had to take extra precautions to keep their establishments from being shut down, and often had elaborate ways of keeping it secure.

Along with speakeasies becoming popular organized crime was seen more often although mostly in large cities. The public turned to gangs and bootleggers to get them alcohol. Because of the demand there was a good amount of money involved in the bootlegging industry which lead to crime between gangs.

While bootlegging was a popular people were also making their own alcohol in their homes. This alcohol was called "moonshine". It was most commonly produced in the south. Moonshine and other home brewed alcohol was often very unsanitary for the public to consume because there were really no standards to it. It sometimes had severe side effects such as blindness and even death.

Volstead Act- This act was an enforcement on the 18th amendment. Andrew J. Volstead a republican from Minnesota was the main person behind this act. It had three main parts: -The manufacture, export, sale or possession of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the U.S -Alcoholic beverages were those that contained more than one-half percent of alcohol -Federal agents were empowered to investigate and prosecute violators This and the 18th amendment were disregarded with the 21st amendment.

This political cartoon represents anti-prohibition. It alludes to the negatives of prohibition. It was seen in the Putnam County Courier on October 12, 1928.



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Works Cited:
[] [] http://alliance.ed.uiuc.edu/cdrom/Hononegah/prohibition/speakeasies-s.htm http://www.geocities.com/Athens/troy/4399/ http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhProhibition.php http://www.old-picture.com/united-states-history-1900s---1930s/Moonshine-Still.htm http://www.vintageperiods.com/prohibition.php http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1086.html