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How Did Prohibition Support Crime

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During the Prohibition era, corruption and crime took over society. Breaking the law seemed to be a widespread trend when it came to the illegal use of alcohol. The increase of crimes, gang violence, and abuse is what led people to support the Prohibition laws. Although Prohibition helped in certain aspects, it actually worked in the complete opposite way. The prodigious increase in profits had made the illegal selling of alcohol all the more desirable. Prohibition was the ban on the manufacture, transportation, production, and sale of any alcoholic beverages. President Woodrow Wilson came up with a Prohibition plan in 1917. The 18th Amendment was passed during that same time. Prohibition was an ongoing battle and for many a relief of stress. Many people were in favor of Prohibition, but at the same time many went against it. Prohibition led to …show more content…

Government as well as public officials took part. One popular example was Roy Olmstead, a Seattle police officer who eventually started selling alcohol illegally, but got caught and lost his position as an officer. After he was fired, he decided to start bootlegging as his main job and ended up making way more money than when he was a police officer. After a while of success, he got caught again and had to participate in four years of drudgery. Olmstead wasn’t the only police officer to get involved, some local officers as well as state ones were found guilty in engaging in these activities. In Addition, one of the main reasons for police officers getting involved with the illegal acts of distributing alcohol, was because their salaries were so low and they were willing to partake in these acts in order to make more money. Many officers would accept bribes from other bootleggers, help sneak in liquor trucks to businesses, and even help to protect smugglers. Officers were willing to do whatever it took to make quick, easy

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