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( 1920 - 1933 )


Adviser: Irina Iritoiu
Student: Badescu Alexandru

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Content
I. General facts about prohibition................................................. 3
II. Prohibition around the world.................................................... 4
III. American Prohibition................................................................ 12
IV. Start of National Prohibition( 1920 ).......................................... 13
V. Unpopularity of prohibition and repeal movement..................... 14
VI. Repeal..................................................................................... 16
VII. Post-Repeal............................................................................. 17
VIII. Effects of Prohibition............................................................... 18
IX. Boardwalk Empire ( Tv show inspired from Prohibition).......... 22
X. Conclusion............................................................................... 23
XI. Bibliography............................................................................ 24





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I. General facts about prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the legal act of
prohibiting the manufacture, storage, transportation and sale of alcohol and alcoholic
beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries
during which the prohibition of alcohol was enforced.
History
The earliest records of
prohibition of alcohol date
back to the Xia Dynasty (ca.
2070 BCca. 1600 BC) in
China. Yu the Great, the first
ruler of the Xia Dynasty,
prohibited alcohol throughout
the kingdom. It was legalized
again after his death, during
the reign of his son Qi.
In the early twentieth
century, much of the impetus
for the prohibition movement
in the Nordic countries and
North America came from
moralistic convictions of pietistic Protestants. Prohibition movements in the West
coincided with the advent of womens suffrage, with newly empowered women as
part of the political process strongly supporting policies that curbed alcohol
consumption.

The first half of the 20th
century saw periods of
prohibition of alcoholic
beverages in several countries:
1907 to 1948 in Prince Edward Island, and for shorter periods in other
provinces in Canada
1907 to 1992 in Faroe Islands; limited private imports from Denmark were
allowed from 1928
The Drunkard's Progress: A lithograph by Nathaniel
Currier supporting the temperance movement, January 1846
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1914 to 1925 in Russia and the Soviet Union
1915 to 1933 in Iceland (beer was still prohibited until 1989)
1916 to 1927 in Norway (fortified wine and beer also prohibited from 1917 to
1923)
1919 in Hungary (in the Hungarian Soviet Republic, March 21 to August 1;
called szesztilalom)
1919 to 1932 in Finland (called kieltolaki, ban law)
1920 to 1933 in the United States
After several years, prohibition became a failure in North America and
elsewhere, as bootlegging (rum-running) became widespread and organized
crime took control of the distribution of alcohol. Distilleries and breweries
in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean flourished as their products were either
consumed by visiting Americans or illegally exported to the United
States. Chicago became notorious as a haven for prohibition dodgers during the time
known as the Roaring Twenties. Prohibition generally came to an end in the late
1920s or early 1930s in most of North America and Europe, although a few locations
continued prohibition for many more years.

II. Prohibition around the world
Asia

Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, alcohol is strictly prohibited due to its proscription in the Islamic
faith. However, the purchase and consumption is allowed for non-Muslims in the
country such as theGaro tribe who consume a type of rice beer. Additionally,
Christians drink and purchase alcohol for their holy communion.
Brunei
In Brunei, alcohol consumption in public and sale of alcohol is banned. Non-
Muslims are allowed to purchase a limited amount of alcohol from their point of
embarkation overseas for their own private consumption, and non-Muslims who are
at least the age of 18 are allowed to bring in not more than two bottles of liquor
(about two quarts) and twelve cans of beer per person into the country.
India
In some states of India, alcoholic drinks are banned, for example the states
of Gujarat, Nagaland and Mizoram. Certain national holidays such as Independence
Day and Gandhi Jayanti (birthdate of Mahatma Gandhi) are meant to be dry
days nationally. The state of Andhra Pradesh had imposed Prohibition under the
Chief Ministership of N. T. Rama Rao but this was thereafter lifted. Dry days are also
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observed on voting days. Prohibition was also observed from 1996 to 1998
in Haryana. Prohibition has become controversial in Gujarat following a July 2009
episode in which widespread poisoning resulted from alcohol that had been sold
illegally. All of the Indian states observe dry days on major religious
festivals/occasions depending on the popularity of the festival in that region. These
dry days are observed to maintain peace and order during the festival days.
Maldives
The Maldives ban the import of alcohol, x-raying all baggage on arrival.
Alcoholic beverages are available only to foreign tourists on resort islands and may
not be taken off the resort.
Pakistan
Pakistan allowed the free sale and consumption of alcohol for three decades
from 1947, but restrictions were introduced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto just weeks before
he was removed as prime minister in 1977. Since then, only members of non-Muslim
minorities such as Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians are allowed to apply for
alcohol permits. The monthly quota is dependent upon ones income, but usually is
about five bottles of liquor or 100 bottles of beer. In a country of 180 million, only
about 60 outlets are allowed to sell alcohol. TheMurree Brewery in Rawalpindi was
once the only legal brewery, but today there are more. The ban officially is enforced
by the countrys Islamic Ideology Council, but it is not strictly policed. Members of
religious minorities, however, often sell their liquor permits to Muslims as part of a
continuing black market trade in alcohol.
Philippines
Alcohol is prohibited to be bought two days prior to an election.
The Commission on Elections may opt to extend the period of time of the liquor ban.
In the 2010 elections, the liquor ban was on a minimum two days; in the 2013
elections, it was extended to five days.
Other than election-related prohibition, alcohol is freely sold to anyone above
the legal drinking age.
West Asia
Numerous countries in West Asia including Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait ban alcohol, ranking them low on alcohol consumption per capita, only small
quantities are available on the black market.

Europe

Czech Republic
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On 14 September 2012, the government of the Czech Republic banned all
sales of liquor with more than 20% alcohol. From this date on it was illegal to sell
(and/or offer for sale) such alcoholic beverages in shops, supermarkets, bars,
restaurants, gas stations, e-shops etc. This measure was taken in response to the
wave of methanol poisoning cases resulting in the deaths of 18 people in the Czech
Republic. Since the beginning of the methanol affair the total number of deaths has
increased to 25. The ban was to be valid until further notice, though restrictions were
eased towards the end of September. The last bans on Czech alcohol with regard to
the poisoning cases were lifted on 10 October 2012, when neighbouring Slovakia
and Poland allowed its import once again.
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries, with the exception of Denmark, have had a
strong temperance movement since the late 1800s, closely linked to the Christian
revival movement of the late 19th century, but also to several worker organisations.
As an example, in 1910 the temperance organisations in Sweden had some 330,000
members, which was 6% of a population of 5.5 million. Naturally, this heavily
influenced the decisions of Nordic politicians in the early 20th century.
Already in 1907, the Faroe Islands passed a law prohibiting all sale of alcohol,
which was in force until 1992. However, very restricted private importation from
Denmark was allowed from 1928.
In 1914, Sweden put in place a rationing system, the Bratt System, in force
until 1955. However a referendum in 1922 rejected an attempt to enforce total
prohibition.
In 1915, Iceland instituted total prohibition. The ban for wine and spirits was
lifted in 1935, but beer remained prohibited until 1989.
In 1916, Norway prohibited distilled beverages, and in 1917 the prohibition
was extended to also include fortified wine and beer. The wine and beer ban was
lifted in 1923, and in 1927 the ban of distilled beverages was also lifted.
In 1919, Finland enacted prohibition, as one of the first acts after
independence from the Russian Empire. Four previous attempts to institute
prohibition in the early 20th century had failed due to opposition from the tsar. After a
development similar to the one in the United States during its prohibition, with large-
scale smuggling and increasing violence and crime rates, public opinion turned
against the prohibition, and after a national referendum where 70% voted for a repeal
of the law, prohibition was ended in early 1932.
Today, all Nordic countries (with the exception of Denmark) continue to have
strict controls on the sale of alcohol which is highly taxed (dutied) to the public. There
are government monopolies in place for selling spirits, wine and stronger beers
in Norway (Vinmonopolet), Sweden (Systembolaget), Iceland (Vnbin), the Faroe
Islands (Rsdrekkasla landsins) and Finland (Alko). Bars and restaurants may,
however, import alcoholic beverages directly or through other companies.
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Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark does not share its easier
controls on the sale of alcohol.
Soviet Union
In the Russian Empire, a limited version of a Dry Law was introduced in 1914.
It continued through the turmoil of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian
Civil War into the period of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union until 1925.
United Kingdom
Although the sale or consumption of
commercial alcohol has never been
prohibited by law, historically various
groups in the UK have campaigned for the
prohibition of alcohol, including the Society
of Friends (Quakers), The Methodist
Church and other non-
conformist Christians, as well as
temperance movements such as Band of
Hope and temperance Chartist movements
of the 19th century.
In 1853, inspired by the Maine law in the USA, the United Kingdom
Alliance led by John Bartholomew Gough was formed aimed at promoting a similar
law prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the UK. This hard-line group of prohibitionists
was opposed by other temperance organisations who preferred moral persuasion to
a legal ban. This division in the ranks limited the effectiveness of the temperance
movement as a whole. The impotence of legislation in this field was demonstrated
when the Sale of Beer Act 1854 which restricted Sunday opening hours had to be
repealed, following widespread rioting. In 1859 a prototype prohibition bill was
overwhelmingly defeated in the House of Commons.

North America

Canada
An official, but non-binding, federal referendum on prohibition was held in
1898. Prime Minister Wilfrid Lauriers government chose not to introduce a federal bill
on prohibition, mindful of the strong antipathy in Quebec. As a result, Canadian
prohibition was instead enacted through laws passed by the provinces during the first
twenty years of the 20th century. The provinces repealed their prohibition laws,
mostly during the 1920s.
Mexico
A police raid confiscating illegal alcohol,
in Elk Lake, Canada, in 1925.
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Zapatista
Communities often ban alcohol as
part of a collective decision. This
has been used by many villages
as a way to decrease domestic
violence and has generally been
favored by women. However, this
is not recognized by federal
Mexican law as
the Zapatista movement is strongly
opposed by the federal
government.
The sale and purchase of
alcohol is prohibited on and the
night before certain national
holidays, such as Natalicio de
Benito Jurez (birthdate of Benito
Jurez) and Da de la Revolucin,
which are meant to be dry nationally. The same dry law applies to the days before
presidential elections every six years.

United States

Prohibition in the United States focused on the manufacture, transportation,
and sale of alcoholic beverages; however, exceptions were made for medicinal and
religious uses. Alcohol consumption was never illegal under federal law. Nationwide
prohibition did not begin in the United States until 1920, when the Eighteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, and was repealed in 1933, with
the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment.
Concern over excessive alcohol consumption began during the American
colonial era, when fines were imposed for drunken behavior and for selling liquor
without a license. In the eighteenth century, when drinking was a part of everyday
American life, Protestantreligious groups, especially the Methodists, and health
reformers, including Benjamin Rush and others, urged Americans to curb their
drinking habits for moral and health reasons. By the 1840s the temperance
movement was actively encouraging individuals to reduce alcohol consumption.
Many took a pledge of total abstinence (teetotalism) from drinking distilled liquor as
well as beer and wine. Prohibition remained a major reform movement from the
1840s until the 1920s, when nationwide prohibition went into effect, and was
supported by evangelical Protestant churches, especially
the Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ,
andCongregationalists. Kansas and Maine were early adopters of statewide
This illustration from the Hawaiian Gazette
newspaper humorously illustrates the Anti-Saloon
League and the Women's Christian Temperance
Union's campaign against the producers and sellers
of beers in Hawaii.
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prohibition. Following passage of the Maine law, Delaware,Ohio, Illinois, Rhode
Island, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New York,
among others, soon passed statewide prohibition legislation; however, a number of
these laws were overturned.
As temperance groups continued to promote prohibition, other groups
opposed increased alcohol restrictions. For example, Chicagos citizens fought
against enforcing Sunday closings laws in the 1850s, which included mob violence. It
was also during this time when patent medicines, many of which contained alcohol,
gained popularity. During the American Civil War efforts at increasing federal revenue
included imposition of taxes on liquor and beer. The liquor industry responded to the
taxes by forming an industry lobby, the United States Brewers Association, that
succeeded in reducing the tax rate on beer from $1 to 60 cents. The Womens
Crusade of 1873 and the Womens Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in
1874, marked the formal entrance of women into the temperance movement. The
WCTU and the Prohibition Party, organized in 1869, remained major players in the
temperance movement until the early twentieth century, when the Anti-Saloon
League, formed in 1895, emerged as the movements leader.
Between 1880 and 1890, although several states enacted local option laws
that allowed counties or towns to go dry by referendum, only six states had statewide
prohibition by state statute or constitutional amendment. The League, with the
support of evangelical Protestant churches including
the Episcopalians and Lutherans, and other Progressive-erareformers continued to
press for prohibition legislation. Opposition to prohibition was strong in Americas
urban industrial centers, where a large, immigrant, working-class population generally
opposed it, as did Jewish and Catholic religious groups. In the years leading up
to World War I, nativism, American patriotism, distrust of immigrants, and anti-
German sentiment became associated with the prohibition movement. Through the
use of pressure politics on legislators, the League and other temperance reformers
achieved the goal of nationwide prohibition by emphasizing the need to destroy the
moral corruption of the saloons and the political power of the brewing industry, and to
reduce domestic violence in the home. By 1913 nine states had stateside prohibition
and thirty-one others had local option laws in effect, which included nearly fifty
percent of the U.S. population. At that time the League and other reformers turned
their efforts toward attaining a constitutional amendment and grassroots support for
nationwide prohibition.
In December 1917, after two previous attempts had failed (one in 1913; the
other in 1915), Congress approved a resolution to submit a constitutional amendment
on nationwide prohibition to the states for ratification. The new constitutional
amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors
within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States
and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes. On January
8, 1918, Mississippi became the first state to ratify the amendment, and on January
16, 1919, Nebraska became the thirty-sixth state to ratify it, assuring is passage into
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federal law. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the National Prohibition Act, also
known as the Volstead Act, which provided enabling legislation to implement the
Eighteenth Amendment. Congress ratified theEighteenth Amendment on January 16,
1919, and nationwide prohibition began on January 17, 1920.
During the first years of Prohibition, the new federal law was enforced in regions such
as the rural South and western states, where it had popular support; however, in
large urban cities and in small industrial or mining towns, residents defied or ignored
the law. Weak enforcement of the Volstead Act was compounded by an ineffective,
undermanned, and underfunded agency called the Prohibition Bureau. Although
alcohol consumption declined as a whole, there was a rise in alcohol consumption in
many cities, along with significant increases in organized crime related to its
production and distribution. Sale of alcoholic beverages remained illegal during
Prohibition, but alcoholic drinks were still available. Large quantities of alcohol were
smuggled into the United States from Canada, over land, by sea routes along both
ocean coasts, and through the Great Lakes. While the federal government cracked
down on alcohol consumption on land within the United States, it was a different story
along the U.S. coastlines, where vessels outside the 3-mile limit were exempt. In
addition, home brewing was popular during Prohibition. Malt and hops stores popped
up across the country and some former breweries turned to selling malt extract syrup,
ostensibly for baking and beverage purposes.
Prohibition became increasingly unpopular during the Great Depression.
Some believe that the demand for increased employment and tax revenues during
this time brought an end to Prohibition. Others argue it was the result the economic
motivations of American businessmen as well as the stress and excesses of the era
that kept it from surviving, even under optimal economic conditions.

South America

Venezuela
In Venezuela, twenty hours before every election, the government prohibits
the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages throughout the national territory also
including the restriction to all dealers, liquor stores, supermarkets, restaurants,
wineries, pubs, bars, public entertainment, clubs and any establishment which
markets alcoholic beverages. This is done to prevent violent alcohol induced
confrontations because of the high political polarization. The same is done during the
holy week as a measure to reduce the alarming rate of road traffic accidents during
these holidays, since Venezuelans have a tendency to drink and drive.

Oceania
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Australia
In Melbourne, Victoria in the late 1920s, the temperance movement drove
suburban councils to hold polls and the residents of some of these municipalities
voted for the creation of a dry area. This prohibited the granting of a liquor licence
without a formal vote of approval by local residents. These areas continue to this day
in the suburbs of Camberwell and Box Hill. Polls have been held since, however the
majority of voters continue to support the restrictions on liquor licences.
More recently alcohol has been prohibited in many
remote indigenous communities. Penalties for transporting alcohol into these dry
communities are severe and can result in confiscation of any vehicles involved; in dry
areas within the Northern Territory, all vehicles used to transport alcohol are seized.
Because alcohol consumption has been linked to violent behaviour in some
individuals, some communities sought a safer alternative in substances such
as kava, especially in the Northern Territory. Over-indulgence in kava causes
sleepiness, rather than the violence that can result from over-indulgence in alcohol.
These and other measures to counter alcohol abuse met with variable success.
Some communities saw decreased
social problems and others did not.
The ANCD study notes that, to be
effective, programs must address
...the underlying structural
determinants that have a significant
impact on alcohol and drug misuse.
The Federal government banned
kava imports into the Northern
Territory in 2007.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, prohibition
was a moralistic reform movement
begun in the mid-1880s by the
Protestant evangelical and Nonconformist churches and the Womans Christian
Temperance Union and after 1890 by the Prohibition League. It never achieved its
goal of national prohibition; the effort to legislate morality assumed that individual
redemption was all that was needed to carry the colony forward from a pioneering
society to a more mature one. However, both the Church of England and the largely
Irish Catholic Church rejected prohibition as an intrusion of government into the
churchs domain, while the growing labor movement saw capitalism rather than
alcohol as the enemy.
Reformers hoped that the womens vote, in which New Zealand was a
pioneer, would swing the balance, but the women were not as well organized as in
The first consignment of liquor Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory, following the repeal of
prohibition laws in 1928.
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other countries. Prohibition had a majority in a national referendum in 1911, but
needed a 60% vote to pass. The movement kept trying in the 1920s, losing three
more referenda by close votes; it managed to keep in place a 6pm closing hour for
pubs and Sunday closing. The Depression and war years effectively ended the
movement.

III. American Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide ban on the sale, production,
importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from
1920 to 1933. The dry movement, led by rural Protestants and social Progressives in
the Democratic and Republican parties, was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon
League. Prohibition was mandated under the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. Enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, set down the rules for
enforcing the ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited.
Private ownership and consumption of alcohol was not made illegal under federal
law; however, in many areas local laws were more strict, with some states banning
possession outright. Nationwide Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-
first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, on December 5, 1933.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the introduction of alcohol
prohibition and its subsequent
enforcement in law was a hotly-
debated issue. Prohibition supporters,
called drys, presented it as a victory for
public morals and health. Anti-
prohibitionists, known as wets,
criticized the alcohol ban as an
intrusion of mainly rural Protestant
ideals on a central aspect of urban,
immigrant, and Catholic life. When
federal prohibition legislation was
passed, effective enforcement of the
ban during the Prohibition Era proved
difficult and the law was widely flouted.
Without a solid popular consensus for
its enforcement, Prohibition led to
some unintended consequences and its ultimate repeal in 1933: the growth of
criminal organizations, including the modern American Mafia and various other
criminal groups, disregard of federal law, and corruption among some politicians and
within law enforcement. Despite these criticisms, overall consumption of alcohol
halved during the 1920s and remained below pre-Prohibition levels until the 1940s.
Detroit police inspecting equipment found in a
clandestine brewery during the Prohibition era
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IV. Start of National Prohibition ( 1920 )
Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment
went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police) were given the
task of enforcing the law.
Although it was highly controversial, Prohibition received support among
diverse groups. Progressives believed Prohibition would improve society, as
generally did women, southerners, those living in rural areas, and African Americans.
However, a few exceptionssuch as the Womans Organization for Prohibition
Reformopposed it. American humorist Will Rogers joked about southern
prohibitionists: The South is dry and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough
to stagger to the polls. Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it
would not be repealed. One of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard, joked that
there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a
humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.
At the same time, songs emerged decrying the act. After Edward, Prince of
Wales, returned to the United Kingdom following his tour of Canada in 1919, he
recounted to his father, King George V, a ditty he had heard at a border town:
Four and twenty Yankees, feeling very dry,
Went across the border to get a drink of rye.
When the rye was opened, the Yanks began to sing,
God bless America, but God save the King!
Prohibition became highly controversial among medical professionals,
because alcohol was widely prescribed by the eras physicians for therapeutic
purposes. Congress held hearings on the medicinal value of beer in 1921.
Subsequently, physicians across the country lobbied for the repeal of Prohibition as it
applied to medicinal liquors.
While the manufacture, importation, sale, and transport of alcohol was illegal
in the United States, Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed of wine and cider to be
made from fruit at home, but not beer. Up to 200 gallons of wine and cider per year
could be made, and somevineyards grew grapes for home use. The Act did not
prohibit consumption of alcohol. Many people stockpiled wines and liquors for their
personal use in the latter part of 1919 before sales of alcoholic beverages became
illegal in January 1920.
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Prohibition in the United States did
not apply in neighboring countries, where
alcoholic drinks were not illegal. Distilleries
and breweries in Canada, Mexico, and the
Caribbean flourished as their products
were either consumed by visiting
Americans or smuggled into the United
States illegally. The Detroit River, which
forms part of the U.S. border with Canada,
was notoriously difficult to control,
especially rum-running in Windsor,
Canada. When the U.S. government
complained to the British that American
law was being undermined by officials inNassau, Bahamas, the head of the British
Colonial Office refused to intervene.
[40]
Winston Churchill believed that Prohibition
was an affront to the whole history of mankind.
[41]

During the time known as the Roaring Twenties, Chicago became a haven
for Prohibition dodgers. Many of Chicagos most notorious gangsters, including Al
Capone and his enemy Bugs Moran, made millions of dollars through illegal alcohol
sales. By the end of the decade Capone controlled 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago
and ruled the bootleggingbusiness from Canada to Florida. Numerous other crimes,
including theft and murder, were directly linked to criminal activities in Chicago and
elsewhere in violation of Prohibition.
Three federal agencies were assigned the task of enforcing the Volstead Act:
the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Treasury Departments
IRS Bureau of Prohibition, and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Prohibition.

V. Unpopularity of prohibition and repeal movement

As early as 1925, journalist H. L. Mencken believed that Prohibition was not
working. As the prohibition years continued, more of the countrys populace came to
see prohibition as illustrative of class distinctions, a law unfairly biased in its
administration favoring social elites. Prohibition worked best when directed at its
primary target: the working-class poor.Historian Lizabeth Cohen writes: A rich family
could have a cellar-full of liquor and get by, it seemed, but if a poor family had one
bottle of home-brew, there would be trouble. Working-class people were inflamed by
the fact that their employers could dip into a cache of private stock while they, the
employees, were denied a similar indulgence.
Before the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect in January 1920, many of
the upper classes stockpiled alcohol for legal home consumption after Prohibition
Orange County (California) sheriff's deputies
dumping illegal alcohol, 1932
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began. They bought the
inventories of liquor retailers and
wholesalers, emptying out their
warehouses, saloons, and club
storerooms. American
lawmakers followed these
practices at the highest levels of
government. President Woodrow
Wilson moved his own supply of
alcoholic beverages to his
Washington residence after his
term of office ended. His
successor, Warren G. Harding,
relocated his own large supply
into the White House after
inauguration.
In October 1930, just two
weeks before the congressional
midterm elections, bootlegger George Cassidaythe man in the green hatcame
forward and told how he had bootlegged for ten years for members of Congress. One
of the few bootleggers ever to tell his story, Cassiday wrote five, front-page articles
for The Washington Post. He estimated that eighty percent of congressmen and
senators drank, even though they were the ones passing dry laws. This had a
significant impact on the midterm election, which saw Congress shift from a dry
Republican majority to a wet Democratic majority, who understood that Prohibition
was unpopular and called for its repeal. As Prohibition became increasingly
unpopular, especially in urban areas, its repeal was eagerly anticipated. Economic
urgency played no small part in accelerating the advocacy for repeal. Prior to 1920
the implementation of the Volstead Act, approximately fourteen percent of federal,
state, and local tax revenues were derived from alcohol commerce. The government
needed this income and also felt that reinstating the manufacture and sale of alcohol
would create desperately-needed jobs for the unemployed.
On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an amendment to
the Volstead Act, known as the CullenHarrison Act, allowing the manufacture and
sale of 3.2 beer (3.2 percent alcohol by weight, approximately 4 percent alcohol by
volume) and light wines. The Volstead Act previously defined an intoxicating
beverage as one with greater than 0.5 percent alcohol. Upon signing the Cullen
Harrison Act, Roosevelt made his famous remark: I think this would be a good time
for a beer. The Cullen-Harrison Act became law on April 7, 1933, and the following
day Anheuser-Busch sent a team of Clydesdale horses to deliver a case of
Budweiser beer to the White House.

Removal of liquor during prohibition
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VI. Repeal
The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933, with
ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Despite the efforts
of Heber J. Grant, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
aUtah convention helped ratify the Twenty-first Amendment. While Utah can be
considered the deciding thirty-sixth state to ratify the Amendment and make it law,
both Pennsylvania and Ohio approved it the same day that Utah did.
One of the main reasons why Prohibition did not proceed smoothly was the
inefficient means of enforcing it. From its inception, the Eighteenth Amendment
lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the public who had previously been drinkers and law-
abiding citizens. In some instances the public viewed Prohibition laws as arbitrary
and unnecessary, and therefore were willing to break them. Law enforcement agents
found themselves overwhelmed by the rise in illegal, wide-scale distribution of alcohol
due to the Volstead Act. The magnitude of their task was not anticipated and law
enforcement agencies lacked the resources needed. Additionally, enforcement of the
law under the Eighteenth Amendment lacked a centralized authority. Many attempts
to impose Prohibition laws were deterred due to the lack of transparency between
federal and state authorities. Furthermore, American geography contributed to the
difficulties in enforcing Prohibition. The varied terrain of valleys, mountains, lakes,
and swamps, as well as the extensive seaways, ports, and borders the United States
shared with Canada and Mexico made it exceedingly difficult for Prohibition agents to
stop bootleggers given their lack of resources. Ultimately it was recognized with its
repeal that the means by which the law was to be enforced was not pragmatic, and in
many cases the legislature did not match the general public opinion.
Prohibition was a major blow to the alcoholic beverage industry and its repeal
was a step toward the amelioration of one sector of the economy. An example of this
is the case of St. Louis, one of the most important alcohol producers before
prohibition started, who was ready to resume its position in the industry as soon as
possible. Its major brewery had 50,000 barrels of beer ready for distribution since
March 22, 1933, and was the first alcohol producer to resupply the market; others
soon followed. After repeal, stores obtained liquor licenses and restocked for
business. After beer production resumed, thousands of workers found jobs in the
industry again.
Prohibition created a black market that competed with the formal economy,
which already was under pressure. Roosevelt was elected based on the New Deal,
which promised economic improvement that was only possible if the formal economy
competed successfully against various economic forces, including the black market.
This influenced his support for ratifying the Twenty-first amendment, which repealed
the Prohibition.


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VII. Post-Repeal

The Twenty-first Amendment does not prevent states from restricting or
banning alcohol; instead, it prohibits transportation or importation of alcohol in any
State, Territory, or Possession of the United States in violation of the laws thereof,
thus allowing state and local control of alcohol. Following repeal of Prohibition,
alcohol could be legally sold in some, but not all, townships or counties within a
particular state, while other states continued to enforce prohibition laws. Mississippi,
which had made alcohol illegal in 1907, was the last state to repeal Prohibition in
1966. Kansas did not allow sale of liquor by the drink (on-premises) until 1987.
There are still numerous dry counties and townships in the United States that restrict
or prohibit liquor sales.
Additionally, many tribal governments prohibit alcohol on Indian reservations.
Federal law also prohibits alcohol on Indian reservations, although this law is
currently only enforced when there is a concomitant violation of local tribal liquor
laws.
[65]
The federal law prohibiting alcohol in Indian country pre-dates the Eighteenth
Amendment. No constitutional changes were necessary prior to the passage of this
amendment, since Indian reservations and U.S. territories have always been
considered areas of direct federal jurisdiction.
After repeal of Prohibition, some supporters openly admitted its failure. John
D. Rockefeller, Jr. Explained his view in a letter written in 1932:
When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely supported by
public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil effects of alcohol would
be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly come to believe that this has not been
the result. Instead, drinking has generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the
saloon; a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have
openly ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and crime
has increased to a level never seen before.
It is not clear whether Prohibition reduced per-capita consumption of alcohol.
Some historians claim that alcohol consumption in the United States did not exceed
pre-Prohibition levels until the 1960s; others claim that alcohol consumption reached
the pre-Prohibition levels several years after its enactment, and have continued to
rise. Cirrhosis of the liver, normally a result of alcoholism, dropped nearly two thirds
during Prohibition. In the decades after Prohibition, Americans shed any stigma they
might have had against alcohol consumption. According to a Gallup Poll survey
conducted almost every year since 1939, some two-thirds of American adults age 18
and older drink alcohol.


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VIII. Effects of Prohibition

Most economists during the early 20th century were in favor for the enactment
of the 18th amendment. Simon Patten, one of the leading advocates for prohibition,
predicted that American prohibition would eventually happen for competitive and
evolutionary reasons. Economist Irving Fisher was a Yale professor and a dry who
wrote extensively about prohibition during the prohibition era. In his paper The
Economics of Prohibition, he makes a case for the economic effects of
prohibition.Fisher is credited with supplying the criteria for which future prohibitions,
such as marijuana prohibition, can be measured. His main points were in relation to
crime, health, and most notably productivity. For example, Blue Monday refers to
the hangover workers experienced on Mondays due to the weekends being spent on
consuming alcohol, resulting in Mondays being a wasted productive day.
Making moonshine was an industry in the American South before and after
Prohibition. In the 1950s muscle cars became popular and various roads became
known as Thunder Road for their use by moonshiners. A popular ballad was
created and the legendary drivers, cars and routes were depicted on film in Thunder
Road.

Rates of consumption during Prohibition

Illegal sales are not officially reported or measured, but there are indirect
estimates using alcohol related deaths and cirrhosis, a disease linked specifically to
ongoing alcohol consumption. Scholars estimate that consumption dropped to a low
of about 60% of pre-prohibition levels around 1925, rising to almost 80% before the
law was officially repealed.

Organized crime

Organized crime received a major boost from Prohibition. Mafia groups limited
their activities to prostitution, gambling, and theft until 1920, when organized
bootlegging emerged in response to Prohibition. A profitable, often violent, black
market for alcohol flourished. Powerful criminal organizations corrupted some law
enforcement agencies, leading to racketeering. Prohibition provided a financial basis
for organized crime to flourish.
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Rather than reducing crime, Prohibition transformed some cities into
battlegrounds between opposing bootlegging gangs.In a study of more than thirty
major U.S cities during the Prohibition years of 1920 and 1921, the number of crimes
increased by 24 percent. Additionally, theft and burglaries increased by 9 percent,
homicides by 12.7 percent, assaults and battery rose by 13 percent, drug addiction
by 44.6 percent, and police department costs rose by 11.4 percent. This was largely
the result of black-market violence and the diversion of law enforcement resources
elsewhere. Despite the Prohibition movements hope that outlawing alcohol would
reduce crime, the reality was that the Volstead Act led to higher crime rates than
were experienced prior to Prohibition and the establishment of a black market
dominated by criminal organizations.
Furthermore, stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it
more profitable to smuggle. To prevent bootleggers from using industrial ethyl alcohol
to produce illegal beverages, the federal government ordered the poisoning of
industrial alcohols. In response, bootleggers hired chemists who successfully
renatured the alcohol to make it drinkable. As a response, the Treasury Department
required manufacturers to add more deadly poisons, including the particularly
deadly methyl alcohol. New York City medical examiners prominently opposed these
policies because of the danger to human life. As many as 10,000 people died from
drinking denatured alcohol before Prohibition ended. New York City medical
examiner Charles Norris believed the government took responsibility for murder when
they knew the poison was not deterring people and they continued to poison
industrial alcohol (which would be used in drinking alcohol) anyway. Norris remarked:
The government knows it is not stopping drinking by putting poison in alcohol... [Y]et
it continues its poisoning processes, heedless of the fact that people determined to
drink are daily absorbing that poison. Knowing this to be true, the United States
government must be charged with the moral responsibility for the deaths that
poisoned liquor causes, although it cannot be held legally responsible.
Another lethal substance that was often substituted for alcohol was canned
heat, also commonly known as Sterno. Forcing the substance through a makeshift
filter, such as a handkerchief, created a rough liquor substitute; however, the result
was poisonous, though not often lethal. Many of those who were poisoned as a result
united to sue the government for reparations after the end of Prohibition.
Making alcohol at home was very common during Prohibition. Stores sold
grape concentrate with warning labels that listed the steps that should be avoided to
prevent the juice from fermenting into wine. Some drugstores sold medical wine
with around a 22 percent alcohol content. In order to justify the sale, the wine was
given a medicinal taste. Home-distilled hard liquor was called bathtub gin in northern
cities, and moonshine in rural areas of Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Homebrewing good hard liquor was easier than
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brewing good beer.Since selling privately
distilled alcohol was illegal and bypassed
government taxation, law enforcement
officers relentlessly pursued
manufacturers.In response, bootleggers
modified their cars and trucks by
enhancing the engines and suspensions
to make faster vehicles that, they
presumed, would improve their chances
of outrunning and escaping agents of
the Bureau of Prohibition, commonly
called revenue agents or revenuers. These cars became known as moonshine
runners or shine runners.Shops were also known to participate in the underground
liquor market, by loading their stocks with ingredients for liquors, which anyone could
legally purchase (these include: benedictine, vermouth, scotch mash, and even ethyl
alcohol).
Prohibition also had an effect on the music industry in the United States, specifically
with jazz. Speakeasies became far more popular during that time, and the effects of
the Great Depression caused a migration that led to a greater dispersal of jazz music.
Movement began from New Orleans and went north through Chicago and to New
York. This led to the development of different styles in different cities. Because of its
popularity in speakeasies and the development of more advanced recording devices,
jazz became very popular very quickly. It was also at the forefront of the minimal
integration efforts going on at the time, as it united mostly black musicians with
mostly white audiences.
Along with other economic effects, the enactment and enforcement of Prohibition
caused an increase in resource costs. During the 1920s the annual budget of
theBureau of Prohibition went from $4.4 million to $13.4 million. Additionally, the U.S.
Coast Guard spent an average of $13 million annually on enforcement of prohibition
laws. These numbers do not take into account the costs to local and state
governments.
When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, organized crime lost nearly all of its black
market profits from alcohol in most states, because of competition with legal liquor
stores selling alcohol at lower prices. (States still retained the right to enforce their
own state laws concerning alcohol consumption.)



Al Capone, the Prohibition-era leader
of organized crime in Chicago.

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Other impacts

As a result of Prohibition, the
advancements of industrialization within
the alcoholic beverage industry were
essentially reversed. Large-scale alcohol
producers were shut down, for the most
part, and some individual citizens took it
upon themselves to produce alcohol
illegally, essentially reversing the
efficiency of mass-producing and
retailing alcoholic beverages. Closing the
countrys manufacturing plants and
taverns also resulted in an economic
downturn for the industry. While
the Eighteenth Amendment did not have
this effect on the industry due to its failure to define an intoxicating beverage,
the Volstead Acts definition of 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume shut down the
brewers, who expected to continue to produce beer of moderate strength.
As the saloon began to die out, public drinking lost much of its macho
connotation, resulting in increased social acceptance of women drinking in the semi-
public environment of the speakeasies. This new norm established women as a
notable new target demographic for alcohol marketeers, who sought to expand their
clientele.
In 1930 the Prohibition Commissioner estimated that in 1919, the year before
the Volstead Act became law, the average drinking American spent $17 per year on
alcoholic beverages. By 1930, because enforcement diminished the supply, spending
had increased to $35 per year (there was no inflation in this period). The result was
an illegal alcohol beverage industry that made an average of $3 billion per year in
illegal untaxed income.
Heavy drinkers and alcoholics were among the most affected groups during
Prohibition. Those who were determined to find liquor could still do so, but those who
saw their drinking habits as destructive typically had difficulty in finding the help they
sought. Self-help societies had withered away along with the alcohol industry. In
1935 a new self-help group was founded: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA).
Prohibition had a notable effect on the alcohol brewing industry in the US.
When Prohibition ended, only half the breweries that previously existed reopened.
Wine historians note that Prohibition destroyed what was a fledgling wine industry in
the United States. Productive, wine-quality grapevines were replaced by lower-quality
Men and women drinking beer at a bar
in Raceland, Louisiana, September
1938. Pre-Prohibition saloons were
mostly male establishments; post-
Prohibition bars catered to both males
and females.

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vines that grew thicker-skinned grapes, which could be more easily transported.
Much of the institutional knowledge was also lost as winemakers either emigrated to
other wine producing countries or left the business altogether. Distilled spirits became
more popular during Prohibition. Because of its higher alcohol content in comparison
to fermented wine and beer, it became common to mix and dilute the hard alcohol.

IX. Boardwalk Empire

Boardwalk Empire is an American period drama series from premium cable
channel HBO, set in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era. It
stars Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson. Primetime Emmy Award-winning
screenwriter and producer Terence Winter created the show inspired by the
book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth,
High Times, and Corruption of
Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson
about historical criminal
kingpin Enoch L. Johnson.
[2]

The pilot episode, directed
by Martin Scorsese, was produced
at a cost of $18 million. On
September 1, 2009, HBO picked up
the series for an additional 11 episodes. The series premiered on September 19,
2010 and completed its fourth season on November 24, 2013. On September 26,
2013, HBO renewed Boardwalk Empire for a fifth season to air in 2014, which will be
its last.
[

Boardwalk Empire has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its
visual style and basis on historical figures, as well as for Buscemi's lead
performance. The series has received forty Primetime Emmy Awardnominations,
including two for Outstanding Drama Series, winning seventeen. The series has also
won the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series Drama in 2011 and
two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a
Drama Series in 2011 and 2012.
I personally recomend this Tv show, not only for the fact that is linked to
prohibition era but also because of the accuracy that Martin Scorsese uses for
realising the show. The costumes, the actors, the scene is taking you back to the 20,
in the game of mobsters and high stakes, making you fell that this was the way it
worked back then.
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X. Conclusion
So all in all I chose this subject because I like modern history, and also
because of the Tv show Boardwalk Empire, which made me to read more and find
interest in the Prohibition Era. It was indeed a time when gangsters were running the
town with illegal alcoholic beverages, making money, spending on hookers, and
threatening the town with their horrific, but glorious mobwars. After all it was proved
that in that period alcoholic beverages were consumed in larger quantity than they
were legall, also encouraging illegal activites.




















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XI. Bibliography

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/roots-of-prohibition/
http://rowellsapushistory.wikispaces.com/Prohibition+in+the+1920's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boardwalk_Empire
Jensen, Richard J. (1971). The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict,
1888-1896. U of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226398259. full text online
Kyvig; David E. Law, Alcohol, and Order: Perspectives on National Prohibition
Greenwood Press, 1985.
Sellman; James Clyde. "Social Movements and the Symbolism of Public
Demonstrations: The 1874 Women's Crusade and German Resistance in Richmond
Willing, Joseph K. "The Profession of Bootlegging". Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science. Volume: 125. Modern Crime: Its Prevention and
Punishment. May, 1926. 40-48.
Timberlake, James. Prohibition and the Progressive Movement, 19001920 Harvard
University Press, 1963.