Prohibition had a lasting effect on the nation, that is true, but like many of my classmates I do not feel that the changes that the Volstead Act made to our country were positive ones. I would like to give you some of the numerous facts I've learned about the 18th Amendment, that might persuade you to agree with me on the understanding that Prohibition did nothing to help our country.
First of all, let us go over the things of which Prohibition was meant to resolve. Our nation's leaders thought alcohol was the basis for all things that were decadent, and thus thought that by banning alcohol, there would be a decline in the immoral activities going on in America. Let me ask you the question now. What exactly were these alleged "immoral activities" that were so disrupting to our society in the 1920's? Crime is pretty much the only corrupt act that is coming to mind. Prohibition was undertaken to slow the crime rates that were associated with alcohol. Reality check!
Prohibition was completely unenforceable, and by outlawing liquor, the government turned drinking into an obsession with the American people. The fact that people weren't supposed to drink made it all that more appealing, and some citizens realized that this ban could be turned into an easy profit. Bootleggers, or manufacturers of illegal alcohol, formed their own organizations, which turned into gangs of a sort. Each gang had its own territory to cover, and with each person trying to make a profit, gang rivalry came about. Well common sense will tell us that with an increase in gangs and illegal activity (drinking) that the crime rates aren't exactly going to come to a sudden halt.
Let us look at the data collected over the prohibition period. Statistics show that although the amount of beer drank by the public went down (due to high pricing), consumption of more intoxicating drinks, arrests, homicides, and the number of convicts i...