Prohibition
I learned how violent people became throughout prohibition. It was a really valuable source.
I learned how most middle class started out supporting prohibition and it began to reduce drinking in the area but in others it produced violence. It was a really valuable source.
I learned what the 18th amendment actually said. It was a really valuable source.
I learned there were such things as speakeasy clubs, so many ways to sneak around prohibition. This was a really valuable source.
I learned who started prohibition and why they believed drinking was bad. It was a really valuable source.
I learned about them and the christians teamed up and were the persuasion of prohibition all together. This was a really valuable source.
In January of 1920, the 18th Amendment was approved. The 18th Amendment hoped to take away the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. It all began with the persuasion of the Anti-Saloon League and went down hill from there.
Anti-Saloon League was a powerful, religious national organization. The campaign was a national effort of collaboration, communication, and persuasion. The League focused single handedly on the issue of prohibition and worked with many churches during the process. The leaders of this program were alarmed at the drinking behavior of Americans, and were concerned it was spreading within the immigrants coming from Europe. During 1913, in Columbus, Ohio, they announced the campaign to later persuade Congress to initiate what became the 18th amendment.
Within the beginning of the 18th Amendment, it did not take long for violence and rebellion to strike. The 18th Amendment reduced drinking in some areas by 30% but those who did not agree became very violent and disobedient towards the law. For example, in New York city alone there were up to 100,000 "speakeasy" clubs, meaning they secretly sold alcohol. Rebellion was everywhere. People of America even did such things as hide alcohol in books.
Have you ever heard of bootleggers? Seller of illegal alcohol? Well, people of the government during this time acted as if they were bootleggers and poisoned the alcohol. They knew several hundred thousand Americans would die, but figured people dying was okay if they were removing rebellious people who drink alcohol, bad people. One thing I found shocking was people who supported prohibition suggested such things as: those who drank should be hung by the tongue beneath and airplane and flown over the country, excluded from all churches, tortured, branded, whipped, etc.
People who called themselves Christians were huge on hypocrisy and ironic judgement during this time. The year the 18th Amendment was passed, John Barleycorn died. John Barleycorn was the representation of alcohol and people celebrated his death. How crazy is that? Celebrating death? I feel the religious were motivated because they loved the opportunity to preach and persuade Americans that drinking was bad, drinking was a sin, but how religious is it to exclude people from church?
In conclusion, this was an unsuccessful innovation. Those who rebelled got their way. Roosevelt repealed prohibition and in 1933 the 21st Amendment was ratified which allowed the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages.
