Prohibition

A detailed Summary of Prohibition


Why was Prohibition introduced in the USA in 1919?

On the Midnight of January 16, 1920, one of the more favorable and common habits of the American people came to a halt. The 18th Amendment was put into effect and all importing, exporting, selling and manufacturing of, 'intoxicating liquor' was put to an end. Strangely enough it was not illegal to buy or drink liquor.

Shortly after this act was passed, the National Prohibition act, or the Volstead act, as it was known because of it's writer Andrew J Volstead, was put into effect. This stated that 'intoxicating liquor' was classed as anything over 0.5% alcoholic content. The Volstead act also set the penalties for breaking the 18th Amendment. This act did not include alcohol used for medicinal purposes.

The ban on alcohol was not introduced suddenly. The Anti-saloon league (ASL) were the most famous supporters of prohibition and had been campaigning against alcohol for many years. The ASL was founded in 1893 and was soon led by a broker called Wayne Wheeler. The ASL were actually making an impact and in 1908, 5 separate states had gone 'dry' (dry meaning alcohol was illegal to sell).

The ASL were not the only supporters of Prohibition the Women's Christian T


The anti-saloon league produced many well-known pieces of propaganda during the early 20th Century. One of the most popular posters produced was the 'poor mans club'. This poster shows a man in a saloon, handing over his month's wages, in exchange for alcohol. In the lower right corner of the poster there is an image of this mans family going hungry at home.

Prohibition greatly changed the US society. Soon after the Volstead act was put into place, the Federal Prohibition Bureau was formed to see that the Volstead act was enforced. However this agency did little to stop illegal selling of alcohol. Illegal drinking became very popular among lots of people. Bootleggers sold redistilled Industrial alcohol, moon-shiners made their own home brews and rumrunners smuggled liquor into the USA from other Countries.



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1336
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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