Prohibition In America Research Paper

As Americans, the citizens of the United States take a deep pride in our freedoms of a democracy. Throughout the history of this great nation, the inhabitants of the United States of America have taken to arms, protested and revolted against enemies; and even each other. One such paramount of history that sets the United States of America apart from that of other countries are the documents known as the Constitution of the United States of America. The aforementioned documents are the backbone of American law and justice; both ensuring a law by which all citizens are bound to, as well as, ensuring the freedoms of those same citizens. With regards to social issues that portray a side of both that pro and con, a singular amendment comes to mind:

An item that has the abilities to make individual feel relaxed and numbed, but also the ability to cause the individual to become addicted and potentially ruin lives; even more critically, cause death. The location and time of the dispute at hand is, the early 1900’s in the United States of America. A new fad was sweeping the nation; which was, that of temperance. The believers of this new doctrine often stated, “that the use of alcohol was reckless and destructive and that prohibition would reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, decrease the need for welfare and prisons, and improve the health of all Americans” (Andersen). It is common knowledge that alcoholism has been a major problem in the world, since it has been introduced as a consumable product. The amount of consequences and repercussions of drinking can itself be described in lengthy novels: ranging from minor things such as short terms effects that entail impaired motor movement and impaired judgement, to more dangerous things such as alcohol poisoning and liver cancer. With that being said, on the other side of the spectrum, the prohibition of alcohol also had numerous cons to it, to be stated next. The agenda of temperance often can be examined and perceived as something that will benefit all citizens. Sadly, the prohibition had numerous consequences as well. At first, the temperance movement seemed to have worked, crimes dramatically reduced across the board. After a short lived period, “people who could afford the high price of smuggled liquor flocked to speakeasies and gin joints” (AnnenbergClassroom). Even though an enacted law prohibited manufacturing and consumption, this never stopped underground lucrative companies and gangsters from producing. Even when the law enforcement of America caught onto these illegal behaviors, “there were approximately 65,000