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Argumentative Essay About Prohibition

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For my argumentative essay topic, I would like to write about the negative effects that alcohol prohibition had in America (Maybe just Chicago) between 1920-1933. The title to this essay will be “Prohibition: How to Make an American Gangster” or something to that effect. In the essay I plan to argue that prohibition was the root cause of the increasing crime rates and corruption in America due to the 18th Amendment being put into law. In an article, David J. Hanson explains, “The Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919. It went into effect one year later, January 16, 1920. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment on December 5, 1933. In the over 230 years of the U.S. Constitution, the 18th is the only Amendment ever repealed.” I plan to use the interesting fact about the repeal of Amendment 18 to build an argument about the negative effects of alcohol prohibition in America between the 1920-1933. …show more content…

With the new prohibition laws in place a new breed of American Gangsters was born. With a nation of drunks now unable to legally feed their addictions the criminals now had a new way to make money. In an article by Lisa Andersen she explains, “Criminal organizations profited from Americans’ insatiable desire for liquor, and then defended those profits by murdering hundreds of their competitors and infiltrating legitimate businesses, labor unions, and government.” I believe that the increasing criminal activity is directly related to the new prohibition laws that were put into place. The new breed of criminals would go on to use organized crime and corruption make a profit off of the new prohibition law no matter what the cost, even if it cost them their own

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Daniel Okrent’s book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition is a thorough history of the Prohibition era. Okrent’s narrative is an easy to follow and enjoyable read. During the first few pages of his book, Okrent clearly lays out the themes and ideas he will explore throughout. While Okrent demonstrates that January 17, 1920 brought Prohibition after the ratification of the 18th Amendment the year prior that banned the manufacturing, sale and transportation of alcohol, he also argues that the prohibition was far more complex than this amendment. Okrent argues that the 18th Amendment was a culmination of social and political movements, leading to the dryness of a country.

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Firstly, the majority of the American do not think of the consumption of alcohol as a bad thing, instead, they see it as an enjoyable thing to do, therefore, people start breaking the law by drinking alcohol. Also, the consumption of alcohol is legal if you have a prescription, thus, the doctor will prescribe patient who was alcoholic with four liters of alcohol every week so that they could be legally drunk, and as a result, the total sales for medical alcohol went up to 400% during the prohibition. Meanwhile, a portion of Americans even made their own alcohol instead of buying it, which they called it “moonshine”. Secondly, the existence of the 18th amendment led to the growth of crime rate in America, as it helped the secret societies, gangsters, and speakeasies became popular among the public, they became the main supply of alcohol in American which helps them made a tremendous amount of money. Even the formal American President - Warren G. Harding, whom initially voted against the banning of alcoholic beverages and later voted for the 18th amendment, he himself would drink and play poker in the white house.

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In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in America (Doc B). Prohibitionists overlooked the tenacious American tradition of strong drink and of weak control by the central government. Thus, there was tension between the modernists and the traditionalists. Although the amendment was passed, alcohol was still distributed illegally. Actually, prohibition spawned many crimes, such as illegal sale of alcohol and gang wars.

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Near the end of Prohibition, there was an average of 10 homicides per 100,000 people in America. Another way in which crime increased was the smuggling of alcoholic beverages. In Document C, it stated that "On the Atlantic Coast the smugglers are so numerous and so active that there is at all times a rum fleet standing off or anchored outside the 3-mile limit near New York and New Jersey.” The extreme increase in crime that the government couldn't really do anything about, changed Americans point of view on Prohibition.

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Passed on December 18th, 1917 the United States passed the 18th Amendment, Prohibition. Prohibition was the reason for the large increase in crime in the United States during the 1920s. Prohibition was the restriction of manufacturing, selling, or transporting alcohol or liquor. Disliked by a large majority of the country, specifically upper class. The upper class created hidden bars and clubs called speakeasies.

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Ender’s game is a great book, so good they made it into a movie. It’s so popular it got about 701,000 ratings on goodreads alone. I definitely think you should get this book. The story is about a boy named Ender Wiggin who has a sister who he loves named Valentine and a brother named Peter who hates him very much. Enders classmates hate ender and a group bullies attack him, he beats up the leader in order to protect himself and gets moved up to battle school where the real fun starts.

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The law of Prohibition of alcohol was passed on November 18, 1918. The 18th Amendment, passed on December 18, 1917, enforced he this law. Prohibition was passed because drinking was to be blamed for America’s most serious problems, such as child abuse, crime, and corruption. Also it was believed that passing prohibition would improve health and hygiene. The 18th Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

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In 1920, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. cConstitution was authorized. A ramification of this act was Prohibition, which banned the production, travel and sale of alcohol. Prohibition was unfavorable and wearisome to enforce. The federal and local government could not handle it; the IRS was first given the job to enforce Prohibition, but it was later transferred to the Justice Department. An increase of support to ending the Prohibition occurred when illegal manufacturing and vending of alcohol started, known as bootlegging, the popularity of speakeasies soared, and violence and crimes increased to numbers never seen before.

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There were various variables that played a role in the increasing crime rate alongside prohibition, though, prohibition was the main cause of these other crimes. Since the sale of all liquors was made illegal it benifited criminals such as racketeers, drug dealers, and most of all bootleggers because it gave them a country full of oportunities to exploit the fact that alcohol was made illegal. There would be plenty of more people that would need alcohol throughout prohibition because they couldnt just buy it from a store and bootleggers would be right there to step in and profit off of those people illegally. One of Cartoonist Winsor McCay’s political cartoons from the early 1930’s portays this perfectly by illistrating prohibition alongside other crimes that it had caused an icrease of walking into a depression together because they would take away money from the economy while simotaniasly increasing the illegal sale of liquors and other crimes. U.S. Census and FBI Uniform Crime Reports in Drug War Facts shows a spike in homicides right around the time prohibition began and dramaticly increased until 1933 when prohibition ended and then shows a very significant drop right after the 18th amendment was

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More than a decade ago, the passing of the 18th Amendment banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol. Now that this law has been repealed, did it fulfill its purpose and solve any problems of America? Even before the 18th Amendment went into effect in January of 1920, many Americans were in support of Prohibition. Supporters wanted America to be a healthier, safer, and more moral country.

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overpower human behaviors which could lead to incidents against morals. This act was meant to help people keep good morals in check and live healthier, happier lives. Drinking actually became fashionable and exciting, which contrasts the entire notion of living a healthy life without alcohol as a temporary source of happiness. Many Americans drank heavily during this time and wished for the prohibition idea to end. A poem titled “The Alcohol Blues” exemplifies the outstanding desire for alcohol stating, “I’ve got the blues, I’ve got the blues I’ve got the alcoholic blues.

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