Presentation Transcript

1. Prohibition

   US History Mrs. Huston
2. Legislating Morality Can the government force people to “be good”? Is there a difference between breaking one law or another? Why did the U.S. enact Prohibition?
3. Definition Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed.
4. Which Amendment? The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution took away license to do business from the brewers, distillers, vintners, and the wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages.
5. What else was it called? The Volstead Act
6. How was it passed? Congress voted the bill through both the House of Representatives and the Senate Politicians didn’t want to be seen as being “for” liquor They were afraid they would not be re-elected
7. Next Step Sent to the states to be ratified; each state legislature considers the amendment separately After ¾ of the states passed the amendment, it went into effect
8. Why was it passed? By the turn of the 20th century, temperance societies were prevalent in the United States. Concerned citizens had begun warning others about the effects of alcohol nearly 100 years earlier.
9. Progressive reformers--continuation of their efforts to improve society in general. Temperance societies and Progressives alike—wanted more governmental control and involvement in citizens' lives.
10. Local reforms They were successful in passing several laws at the local level. Between 1905 and 1917, states across the nation were imposing laws that prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages.
11. Earlier efforts Prohibition was not a new phenomenon in the 1920s. There had been various anti-alcohol campaigns since the colonial period. The Maine Law of 1851, for example, prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors within the state of Maine. By 1855, thirteen of the thirty-one states had adopted similar prohibition legislation. During the Civil War, moreover, the federal government prohibited alcoholic beverages in the Union Army as a way to ration grain for hungry soldiers.
12. National Results The amendment worked at first, liquor consumption dropped, arrests for drunkenness fell, the price for illegal alcohol rose higher than the average worker could afford.
13. More Results Alcohol consumption dropped by 30 percent and the United States Brewers' Association admitted that the consumption of hard liquor was off 50 percent during Prohibition. These statistics however, do not reflect the growing disobedience toward the law and law enforcement.
14. Scofflaws This is a term used to describe people who knowingly flaunt the law and disobey it. Americans really didn’t want to quit drinking. Police couldn’t enforce it.
15. Organized Crime The illegal production and distribution of liquor, or bootlegging, became rampant, and the national government did not have the means or desire to try to enforce every border, lake, river, and speakeasy in America.
16. Crime Statistics Police funding: INCREASED $11.4 Million Arrests for Prohibition Las Violations: INCREASED 102+% Arrests 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%
17. Profitable Because liquor was no longer legally available, the public turned to gangsters who readily took on the bootlegging industry and supplied them with liquor. On account of the industry being so profitable, more gangsters became involved in the money-making business.
18. Famous Mobsters Al Capone John Dillinger
19. More Mobsters Bugs Moran Machine Gun Kelly
20. Terms Speakeasy—illegal saloon/bar during Prohibition. Had to bribe or have a password to get in Moonshine—home made illegal alcohol Bathtub gin—one variety of homemade liquor Hooch—slang term for liquor Getting blotto—slang for getting drunk
21. Why it Failed Prohibition failed primarily because it was unenforceable. By 1925, half a dozen states, including New York, passed laws banning local police from investigating violations. Prohibition had little support in the cities of the Northeast and Midwest.
22. Undoing the Amendment The “noble experiment” ended at 3:32 p.m., December 5, 1933, when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition. By then, even some proponents admitted that the 18th Amendment resulted in "evil consequences."
23. The end