Prohibition Dbq Essay

During the prohibition there was a long fought war against people who illegally manufactured and distributed alcohol. The prohibition began in the early 1920's and ended in 1933. The prohibition banned the manufacture distribution and sale of alcohol. The law was passed for many reasons. Important names at the time including John D. Rockefeller said that drunken workers were bad for business. The prohibition was a huge disaster. It made it so easy for goons and crooks to have something to sell. In this case it was alcohol.
Since people were illegally smuggling alcohol there was tremendous violence. For example violations increased. A chart from the Bureau of the Census in Document F proves that the increase in violations and the homicide rates. During the thirteen years active, the prohibition saw a huge increase in homicides peeking at nearly 10 per 100,000 people. Furthermore, The Ken Burns Documentary states that a man that went to prison accused of alcohol related violations shot his wife. The reason for him shooting his wife was because she had left him for another man during his time in prison. Although this is not a

Document J shows a short article written by Mabel Willebrandt that states that people loved it so much that even the people that made the law were breaking it. Alcohol was a very common drink for senators and congressmen. The University of Albany wrote that since you couldn't drink out in the public, people were forced to drink at home. This led to children being heavily influenced by illegal activity such as drinking illegally manufactured alcohol. A letter from Mrs. Hillyer to the authorities showed that people were actually using their money for alcohol instead of their necessities. For example a man was using his money to buy whiskey every other day rather than paying for his bills. This led to his angry and worried wife to send a letter to the