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How and why did public opinion about Prohibition change?. Prohibition – The Noble Experiment. The goals of prohibition were to decrease: drunkenness and the negative impact this had on the family political corruption domestic abuse poverty. What really happened?.
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Prohibition – The Noble Experiment • The goals of prohibition were to decrease: • drunkenness and the negative impact this had on the family • political corruption • domestic abuse • poverty What really happened? Predict: How successful, or not, do you think this new law will be? Explain.
Some interesting statisticsduring Prohibition…. • Police funding: INCREASED $11.4 million • Arrests for Prohibition Violations: INCREASED 102% • Arrest for Drunkenness and Disorderly Conduct: INCREASED 41% • Arrests of Drunken Drivers: INCREASED 81% • Thefts and Burglaries: INCREASED 9% • Homicides, Assault, and Battery: INCREASED 13% • Number of Federal Convicts: INCREASED 561% • Federal Prison Population: INCREASED 366% • Total Federal Expenditures on Penal Institutions: INCREASED 1,000% Think about it: Were your predictions accurate? Why/why not?
What went wrong? • Home made alcohol, called ‘bootleg liquor,’ was being produced and distributed illegally in ‘speakeasys’ (secret places where patrons could enter and buy a drink by speaking a secret password) by organized crime gangsters like Al Capone and Bugsy Malone, who fought for control over large areas of “territory” in major cities. Think about it: Sometimes there is a difference between what people want and what is allowed in society. What role does government play in addressing this conflict? "All I do is to supply a public demand … somebody had to throw some liquor on that thirst. Why not me?” -Al Capone, 1925
The rise of organized crime • Gangsters controlled the speak- easys, gambling houses, and prostitution rings. This led to an increase in crime and violence. In one year in Chicago, there were over 400 gang related murders • The most famous gang related shooting occurred on St. Valentine’s Day, 1929, in the streets of Chicago. Two gangs – the South Side Italian gang, led by Al Capone, and the North Side Irish gang, led by Bugsy Malone - battled over control of the bootleg business in the city. Six members of the Malone gang were lined up against the wall of a garage and shot. St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, 1929 Members of the Malone gang
Corruption • The government did not adequately fund and staff the law enforcement agencies responsible for enforcing this law. • Police, judges, and politicians were often times on the “payroll” of the local gang and would not use their authority to enforce the laws Al Capone with Chicago Chief of Police, Stege:www.umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/nkazmers/thelaw1.html
What were some journalists saying? Journalist H. L. Mencken wrote in 1925 Chicago speakeasy 1925 • “Five years of prohibition …have completely disposed of all the favorite arguments of the Prohibitionists… There is not less drunkenness in the Republic but more. There is not less crime, but more. There is not less insanity, but more. The cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased, but diminished.”
What were some women saying? A former temperance supporter testifies before Congress: Pauline Sabin • “In pre-prohibition days, mothers had little fear in regard to the saloon as far as their children were concerned. A saloon-keeper’s license was revoked if he was caught selling liquor to minors. Today in any speakeasy in the United States you can find boys and girls in their teens drinking liquor and this situation has become so acute that the mothers of the country feel something must be done to protect their children.”
The Wickersham Commission studies the effect of Prohibition on law and order Report of the National Commission on Law Observance and Law Enforcement, 1931 George W. Wickersham was appointed by President Hoover to look into the effectiveness of law enforcement with Prohibition • "Intoxicating liquor is readily obtainable in every city of consequence in the country. ... If the law is not enforceable in cities [where dwell 40% of U. S. population] it cannot be considered enforceable as a national instrument. ... I cannot find any reasonable ground for the expectation that public sentiment, especially in urban districts, can be changed to the extent necessary. . . . Repeal is the only consistent alternative."
What about politicians? 1932 Presidential Election FDR at Democratic Convention • Because of the increase in crime and rise in public discontent, the Democratic platform included the repeal of prohibition with candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt decrying, “The damnable affliction of Prohibition.” • The poll of people for and against repeal of the 18th amendment in 1932: • 74% for • 26% opposed
Supporters of the 21st Amendment The 18th Amendment is repealed • The 21st Amendment • Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. • Ratified December 5, 1933 • With a partner: How did the unintended consequences of Prohibition lead to its repeal? • What role did public opinion play? Be specific and cite your reasons from this power point, class discussions, text.
