Prohibition: the Failed Experi
Prohibition came about from the push to abolish the use of alcoholic beverages through an amendment to the Constitution, which became a major crusade in the United States during the second decade of the twentieth century. "By the 1820s people in the United States were drinking, on the average, seven gallons of pure alcohol per person each year, and many religious and political leaders were beginning to see drunkenness as a national curse" (Encarta 2). From the progressive viewpoint, arguments to ban liquor made sense. Alcoholism caused a multitude of social, political and economic evils. Prohibition, often called the "Noble Experiment" was idealistically initiated to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America (Thornton). Results of the experiment clearly indicate it was a miserable failure on all counts. During prohibition, crime and corruption soared, the Mafia became entrenched in our cities, and government officials were corrupted. According to one scholar, "Prohibition created the most disruptive era in our society since the Civil War" (Coffey II). Ironically, the "Noble Experiment's"
During his rise of popularity, his empire grew into a huge army. People with such an arrogant attitude towards the law often ended up in jail for the consumption of alcohol, drunk driving and/or disorderly conduct. This economic burden was one of the main factors for the eventual ending of prohibition in 1933, "as a majority of the population decided that if people were going to pay money for booze, no matter what, they might as well pay it to the government, which would return it to the community in one form or another" (Rebman 12). Valentine's Day Massacre" (Pegram 174). During the Prohibition era, the mafias, the government officials, and the law enforcement combined to create a huge, corrupt, merchandising system that still exists today and is the main force behind the narcotics trade . Not only was prohibition not reducing the consumption of alcohol, but also it was leading people to harder drinks and causing people to socialize even more through the consumption of alcohol in speakeasies. Meanwhile, he got most of the contributions from bakeries, restaurants, and meat packers who feared for their lives if they were to refuse. The violent public murders were constant throughout the city. Capone's hit-men opened fire and killed all seven of O'Banion's men. When the shipment arrived, Capone's men flew into the garage and ordered the men to line up against the wall. In 1930 two-thirds of all prisoners were liquor law offenders (Thornton 10). Although the consumption of alcohol decreased drastically in 1921(Thornton 3), the following year it skyrocketed back up to around the same amount as it was before the Volstead Act was introduced. The Anti-Saloon League, a woman's movement to legislate prohibition, broke out across the nation in 1873. Of these murders, the most well known one is the St.
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Acceptance Essays
