Prohibition

Prohibition

Why was it introduced?
1. It was a religious movement
  1. Women's Christian Temperance Union and Anti Saloon League had good campaigns
2. Caused poverty, crime and broke up marriages
3. Already existed in some states
4. Industrialists supported it and it got politicians votes
  1. rural people supported it
5. It limited progress
  1. Drinking caused people turning up to work in an unfit state
When was it introduced?
1. In 1917, the movement had enough states on its side to propose the 18th Amendment to the constitution.
  1. This prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors
  2. It became law in 1920 and it is known as the Volstead Act
What were the effects?
1. Organised crime and corruption
  1. Gangsters such as Al Capone
  2. It encouraged ordinary people to break the law
2. 'Speakeasies'
  1. These were illegal bars/pubs.
  2. There were on average 250,000 in America
3. 'Moonshine'
  1. Homemade illegal alcohol
    1. Impossible to stop
  2. Caused death
4. 'Bootleggers'
  1. People who smuggled alcohol from the West Indies and Canada
    1. Smuggling couldn't be prevented, the coastline was impossible to seal
    2. McCoy smuggled 70 million dollars worth of Whiskey
Definition: the term used to refer to the ban of alcohol in the U.S,A
Failure of prohibition
1. There was a lack of popular support
  1. Most americans did not agree with it
2. Ordinary people were prepared to break the law in order to consume alcohol
3. The law wasn't well enforced
  1. Only 4,000 agents were employed to cover the entire U.S.A
4. Gangsters controlled the trade through violence
  1. Many judges and police were bribed by gangsters such as Al Capone, Bugs Moran and Lucky Luciano
    1. Nearly 1 in 10 agents were sacked for taking bribes
5. Bootleggers continued to supply alcohol
When it ended...
1. It ended in December 1933
2. President Franklin D. Roosevelt repealed the 18th Amendment
3. The crime accociated with prohibition was slowly bought under control
  1. The only crime the FBI could hang on Al Capone Tax Evasion, for which he began a prison sentence in 1932

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	Created by Lucy Richards over 9 years ago