Essay On The 18th Amendment

The 18th Amendment was passed on January 17, 1920. This amendment put strict rules on beverages containing alcohol. The Alcohol concentration could be no more than 0.5%. The 18th amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol. President Herbert Hoover though that prohibition was a “Noble experiment” and he eventually coined the phrase. Before the 18th amendment Maine had been the first state to enforce some type of prohibition. In 1846, Maine passed the first prohibition law, when the Civil War started many other states followed by there example. In the late 1800’s Prohibition movements had started across the United States. Most were led by religious groups who thought that alcohol was limiting the nation’s progress and that alcohol and drunkenness was a threat to the United States. In the year 1873, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) based out of Ohio called for the abolition of the sale of alcohol. They were soon followed by the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) who backed the claims of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and strengthened their stance. Carrie Amelia Moore Nation is one of the most memorable people

Instead of lowering crimes, prohibition led to a rise of organized crime. Prohibition was hard to enforce. People turned to bootlegged alcohol , the bootlegging turned into avery lucrative business as American continued to want their alcohol. Alcohol sales were controlled by street gangs and the mafia. The illegal liquor sales brought in huge profits to the gangs selling. This money made the gangs and the mafia even more powerful. The mafia also become very skilled at bribing politicians and even policeman to look the other way when they did get caught. Al Capone is a famous example of this common happening. In urban areas most people opposed prohibition, in these places law enforcement towards prohibition was much weaker compared to rural