The Failed Experiment that Was Prohibition Essay - 689 Words

Prohibition In the 1920s, the 18th Amendment banned a persons right to manufacture and purchase liquor. Banning the transportation, manufacture,and sale of â€Å"intoxicating† beverages was known as prohibition, the most controversial law of that century. Prohibition was strongly supported by the government and women in America that were being abused. Important groups of that time being the â€Å"Dry’s† and the â€Å"Wet’s†. Opponents of prohibition consisted of men who felt that they deserved the right to drink liquor. Owners of saloons, breweries.etc†¦, these people were called the â€Å"Wet’s†. Prohibition lasted for nearly 14 years ending on December 5th, 1933; Prohibition didn’t stop drinking: it just pushed it secretly underground. It created†¦show more content†¦During Prohibition, underground speakeasies were in cities throughout the U.S. One estimate says that for every legitimate bar that closed during Prohibition, six speakeasies opened in their place. Prohibition was an experiment gone wrong, a legal disaster, and infringement on the rights of the constitution. One of the rights that you get by being in America is the freedom, which includes the freedom to choose what people eat, drink, where they choose to go, what they wish to wear, and whatever they want to do. Many members of society including religious groups, most women, some government officials, and large organizations, such as the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), strongly believed that alcohol was responsible for many of society’s ills and crimes. It was thought that men would spend the family money drinking at saloons just to return home and abuse their families. Some communities felt so strongly that prohibition would end crime, they sold their jails on the eve of prohibition. Supporters of prohibition began to gather in large groups in the early 1920s, although they must have realized that prohibition was not working as they had planned. Although alcohol may have been a factor with many men, it does not seem fair to blame a familys financial status or domestic abuse on the entire nation. There are similar problems in the world, such as mental illness, drug abuse, and many other criminal activities that society deals with accordingly , it is unfair to completelyShow MoreRelatedCauses and Consequences of Alcohol Prohibition1399 Words   |  6 PagesProhibition and other substance bans have a long history in the United States dating back to the late 19th century. Cohen (2006) believed the root cause for drug-prohibition movement, including alcohol, derives from race. In the era of mass US immigration, Chinese, Mexicans, Black Africans, and European denominations, posed a democratic threat to White â€Å"native† Americans. 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