The 1920s were full of excitement and change as America experienced extraordinary urban and economic growth. The “Roaring Twenties” brought about substantial industrial and social changes but not all the changes were good. While the Eighteenth Amendment in 1918 disallowed the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages, the Volstead Act passed in 1920 actually implemented this prohibition and defined an alcoholic drink having above one percent alcohol as illegal. While America believed it was solving a problem by encouraging sobriety and self discipline, did it actually encourage illegal drinking establishments, promote crime and experience economic losses?
The gangsters were quick to appear after the 1920 signing of the
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They sincerely believed that with the prohibition of alcohol there would be a boom in business. All the supporters thought there would be economic growth across many businesses including clothing, household goods, soft drinks and even entertainment. PBS.org reports quite the opposite happened. In addition to the declining entertainment and amusement areas, restaurants were shutting their doors because they were no longer making profits off of the sale of alcohol. The loss of jobs became a reality. PBS.org reports that “Prohibition cost the federal government a total of $11 billion in lost tax revenue, while costing over $300 million to enforce.” In addition, Mark Thornton reported that “The annual budget for the Bureau of Prohibition went from $4.4 million to $13.4 million during the 1920s, while Coast Guard spending on Prohibition averaged over $13 million per year.” Consumption of alcohol was on a rise and so was the cost of trying to enforce the prohibition. The news article above went from being a hopeful dream to a dreadful nightmare for