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Prohibition In America In The Late 1800's

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America in the 1800's was a nation of alcoholics. On average Americans over the age of fifteen were consuming seven gallons of alcohol a year; a record high in America's consumption history. This addiction undoubtedly cut deep into the family morals, with wives being afraid of their abusive husbands. By the late 1800's there was an army of 250,000 women, also known as the Women's Temperance and Christian Union (WCTU). This Christian based group was one of the several religious organizations that fought for moderation if not complete abstinence from alcohol. The group advocated and at times harassed men at saloons to quit drinking. Temperance organizations such as the Women's Temperance Christian Union and the Anti­Saloon League, specifically …show more content…

By 1920, America entered the Prohibition Era, and what seemed like overnight put the fifth largest industry out of business. Early on Prohibition seemed like a success story with a reportedly thirty percent drop in alcohol consumption and a decline in arrests for drunkenness. In rural areas, public drunkenness seemed non­existent, but in major cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston the thirst for something other than soda pop became …show more content…

Stemming from President Woodrow Wilson having personal cellars to the members of Congress stockpiling storage rooms full of cider, wine, and beer. It was a plan simply destined to fail. Prohibition lasted from 1920­ 1933. The continuous increase in crime, violence, corruption exposed America's dirty secret (or maybe not so secret) that it was far from abstaining from alcohol. Franklin D. Roosevelt ran his election on the promise to repeal the 18th amendment when he won he passed the 21st amendment and did just that. The ongoing "War on Drugs" has been a losing battle for at least five decades. Similar to Prohibition keeping "street narcotics" such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines, and Ecstasy illegal has allowed cartels to flourish and flood the black market with billions of dollars in unregulated substances. This enormous amount of revenue has allowed corrupt individuals like Pablo Escobar (Columbia) and most recently El Chapo Guzman (Mexico) to use this financial power to influence government, law enforcement, and even the average citizen. This only creates a volatile environment where violence and crime are inevitable. It also puts hundreds of thousands of people in danger and potentially exposed to poisonous and "stepped on drugs" (drugs that are manipulated or changed to stretch profit margin) which inevitably leads

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The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was a driving force in Progressive Reform and set a standard for ordinary women to participate in political activism. After the Civil War, there was an increase in violence at saloons and perpetrated by husband against wife. In response, a national temperance movement began with local groups of women organizing to support prohibition. The establishment of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1874 marked a significant turning point, as women across the nation united in their support for temperance and rallied for legislative measures to curtail the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The WCTU believed that alcohol abuse was a major factor contributing to domestic violence.

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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.

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Alcohol was one of the prominent industry in the United States. In 1914, the alcohol tax revenue reached 226,000,000. Prohibition’s supporters expected the rise in the sales of other products like clothing, household goods, and other beverages. Instead, it deteriorated other industries. Breweries, distilleries and saloons closed their doors.

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Think back to an era filled with speakeasies, smooth jazz, bootleggers, mob bosses and alcohol. This may all seem like an intro to an action movie. However, this is the Prohibition era of the 1920s, when the U.S. Government outlawed the voluntary right to drink alcohol. Prohibition was not an entirely brand new thing during the 1900s, with America already having temporary prohibition during World War I. Once it ended, a lot of propaganda began to be put up about how drinking alcohol was unAmerican. The government would not vote on prohibition for a little while after because the tax on alcohol made up around 40% of their revenue.

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During the 1800’s, American citizens started reform movements in an attempt to help make the country a better place. One of the most important movements was the temperance movement. The temperance movement was in between the years of 1830-1840 and focused on eliminating the use of alcoholic beverages. During this time, alcohol was causing more problems than any other behavior; like crime, disorder, and poverty. This resulted in many social changes, for example, the rise of industrial production and breakdown of apprentice system.

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Prohibition was a major part of the 1920’s. Prohibition took place predominantly in the 1920’s nicknamed “The Roaring 20’s.” It was put into effect with the 18th Amendment in 1920. Prohibition helped start a completely different lifestyle for the American People. Prohibition was the illegal possession and sale of alcohol.

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The eighteenth amendment was not imposed until 1920, but with early American’s infamy in heavy drinking, numerous groups had been trying to ban alcohol for decades. Since the 1800s, groups concerned about alcohol consumption began to form, including the Prohibition Party. The activists sponsored the campaign of many presidential candidates who opposed alcohol (Gale). Although men were included in prohibition activities, women, primarily represented the movement. After endless suffering women faced because of intoxicated males, they were hoping to remove that extra burden from society.

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Prohibition, the law that made the production, the sale, and distribution of anything with more than 0.5% alcohol by volume illegal. This then increased the amount of criminal activity in the late 1920’s. Americans were no longer allowed to consume or purchase alcoholic beverages. Despite rules and regulations this law actually provoked a nation wide drinking spree.

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Edward Behr states in Prohibition: 13 years that changed America, “Twenty months after Prohibition became effective, the Internal Revenue Bureau, as it was the called, reckoned that bootlegging had become a one billion dollar business… Americans consumed 25 million gallons of illegal liquor in 1920 (147)…” Bootlegging became such a thing that people became famous for committing a crime and most of the police would not attempt to fix this problem. Prohibition resulted in people all across the nation becoming desperate, which made them willing to break the law in order to receive their ‘most prized

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The ratification of the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution introduced a new period in American history most commonly known as Prohibition. It was the result of a nationwide temperance movement during the 1910s and ‘20s. The enactment of Prohibition led to a large increase of organized crime, the government lost millions of dollars, and there was corruption among government officials and police officers. The Anti-Saloon League (ASL) played a major role in the temperance movement against alcohol, starting late 1800s to early 1900s, with its establishment in 1893. The ASL consisted mostly of women, along with a few men.

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