Prohibition: A Great Social Experiment
The decade that proceeded WWI was one of rapid social and political change in America. As G I 's returned home to ticker tape parades, public and political sentiment was shifting toward more Victorian ideals (Allen 61). The most explosive change that occurred in the 1920's was Prohibition. The passing of the 18th Amendment came about as many Americans were striving for "temperance". Many citizens were not shocked when the Amendment passed, as it had been in the works for years. The social climate that had culminated by 1920 warranted Prohibition (Allen 81). As the Volstead Act became enforced, opposition toward the dry act reached phenomenal proportions. Bootlegging and the rise of "gang land" as we know it came about as a response to Prohibition. The dry act instigated a crime wave that no one at the time would have foreseen (Pensoneau 21). Prohibition was official on January 20th, 1920. In short, the new amendment stated that intoxicating beverages could no longer be manufactured or sold with the exception of religious or medical purposes. In order to understand how the 18th Amendment came into existence it is necessary to examine the attitudes that lead to it. In the year after the Armistice was signed, the
As stated in the Kefauver report:At the close of World War I, all areas of the Midwest proved to be lucrative for the furtherance of gangland activities because of the advent of Prohibition. Prohibition also resulted because of the economic times in America. There were bloody gang wars that resulted from rival gangs infringing on each other's territory. At most of these establishments a password or secret knock was required to gain entry. Politicians were optimistic that the Volstead Act would be easily enforced. Alcohol was now an illicit and lucrative commodity. Gangsters were bootleggers who rose as a response to the 18th Amendment. Prohibition was a good idea in theory, but not in practice. Al Capone, the famed Chicago underworld gangster capitalized on the opportunity to feed America's insatiable thirst. Pensoneau paraphrases a congressional report (later known as the Kefauver Report) that was released in the 1960's: Central and Southern Illinois furnished two major gangs, one headed by the Shelton boys and the other by Charles Birger. Cook County was obviously Capone's territory. However, from the onset opposition rose, mostly from the working class and immigrants. Congress acknowledged that Prohibition was basically more trouble than it was worth when the 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933. Illegal stills were turning out gallons of alcohol at minimal expense. The Shelton's were so powerful at the height of the bootlegging scandal, that Capone and his gang did not venture into central or southern Illinois out of respect for the Shelton's (141).
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Acceptance Essays
