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Roots Of Prohibition

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By 1820, the average American, over 15 years old, consumed about seven gallons of pure alcohol per year (“Roots of Prohibition”). Not only has the drinking age changed since then but this is nearly three times the amount of alcohol that is drank today. Alcohol abuse was causing chaos on many lives, especially during a time when women had few legal rights and depended on their husbands for support (“Roots of Prohibition”). From 1920 to 1933, the transportation, sale, and manufacture of alcohol were illegal in the United States under Prohibition. The 18th amendment, along with other groups and movements, enforced the Prohibition of alcohol; however, it was later repealed by the 21st amendment due to increased illegal alcohol sales, disrespect …show more content…

While Prohibition was in effect, “alcohol consumption increased sharply, to about 60-70 percent of its pre-Prohibition level” (Miron and Zwiebel 1). Because the trade of illegal alcohol became more profitable, the quality of alcohol on the black market declined, “on average, 1,000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition from the effects of drinking tainted liquor” (Lerner). Also, it was estimated that 40% of homicides during Prohibition were cause by drug related crimes (“Women the Driving Factor…). The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, takes place during the summer of 1922, during Prohibition. Fitzgerald analyzes the negative effects of Prohibition on the economy, the different social classes of the 1920’s, the characters, and the plot. For example, Gatsby was considered high in social class due to his outrageous parties and large amounts of alcohol provided by his “under the table” business. The Great Gatsby features parties with large amounts of alcohol, provided by bootlegging. Bootlegging is “to produce, reproduce, or distribute alcohol illicitly” (“Bootleg”). Prohibition was effective in rural areas and small towns but was less effective in urban areas, due to these illegal suppliers. Another downfall to Prohibition was speakeasies. Speakeasies were clubs or liquor stores that sold alcohol illegally (“Speakeasy”). The high price of bootleg liquor meant “the nation’s working class and poor were far more restricted during Prohibition than middle or upper class Americans” (“Origins of Prohibition”). Speakeasies and bootleggers increased the illegal production of alcohol, sale of alcohol, gang violence, and crimes. The most notorious example is Al Capone, the “Chicago gangster” who earned $60 million annually from bootleg operations and speakeasies

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Just think, no wine.no beer,no whiskey. This is prohibition. The leaders of the prohibition movement were alarmed at the drinking behavior of Americans. The law was ratified by the Federal and state government In January,1919.Prohibition in the United States was a measure designed to reduce drinking by eliminating the businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcoholic beverages. The Eighteenth Amendment (prohibition law) to the United States Constitution took away license to do business from the brewers, distillers, vintners, and the wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages.

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In the 1920's, the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the consumption, distributing, and production of alcohol, was passed and seen as a failure as it filled the streets of America with criminals and gangsters. Americans saw the 18th Amendment as a violation of their constitution rights and often found a way to go around the amendment. For example, speakeasies, which was an illegal liquor store or night club during prohibition, began to emerge. This allowed Americans to go against tradition culture by socializing with other people who opposed Prohibition. The 18th Amendment raised crime rates within the United States.

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It was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages during the prohibition era 1920 to 1933. It was also illegal to sell or manufacture or transport the drink although it was not against the law to drink alcohol. Speakeasies was the known nickname for outlaw bars because the people that owned them said and lied that they sold soft drinks, which is another name for soda. But they sold liquor, beer, wine, etc., behind the bar or whatever place that they sold the illegal alcohol at. Mostly prohibition gangsters took control of this illegal distribution of illegal alcohol and the speakeasies became the ultimate event that led to the rise of organized crime including mobsters in America.

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This next quote is about Gatsby’s bootlegger friends, “He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter” (87 Fitzgerald). This shows the way a lot of people made money in the 20s, selling alcohol and the criminal business of the

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Since there was such a high demand for alcohol in America when it became illegal many bar owners and other people started speakeasies, these were bars that sold alcohol illegally. The owners of speakeasies got away with illegally selling alcohol by, using a password system to restricted the type of people who entered, and other more famous speakeasies bribed the police. Speakeasies had two ways of getting alcohol, either by importing it from Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean, or by producing it themselves. Home production of alcohol was called bootlegging. Although alcohol was illegal there was some ways to obtain it legally.

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Although Prohibition was intended to get rid of the temptation of liquor, it had the unintended effect of turning many honest people into criminals. By excluding liquor from society, the government without knowing made it even more desirable, something enthusiastic customers had to get. No other book captures this untamed and happy-go-lucky period to the exact extent like Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Throughout the novel Gatsby, have extravagant parties.

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Alcohol was immensely important to immigrants that came to the United States from Europe in the 1600’s. A few centuries later, specifically 1917, many Americans believed that alcohol consumption was a problem. An eighteenth amendment was assembled and passed by congress which banned production, transport, and marketing of alcohol. Even a drink consisting of over 1 percent alcohol was considered an alcoholic beverage. America was officially a “dry” country.

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Speakeasies, meaning to keep "keep low," were famous secret bars, during the 1920s, during the Prohibition Era. When the 18th amendment was established, it made any form of manufacturing, selling, or transporting of any alcohol illegal. Bars and salons shut down and forced law enforcement to raid all liquor stores; any suspicion of supplying or consuming alcohol could put you in jail. This law left people needing help to find a way to continue drinking alcohol. This was until Speakeasies began opening in major urban cities. "

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With careful input, after more than 10 long years of trying to enforce the unrealistic law, the government acknowledge that prohibition was a grand loss. The 21st amendment, approved in 1933, finished the failed experiment and reestablished Americans’ legal right to drink whatever they would please. Prohibition should have educated the government about attempting to readjust personal

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American Prohibition and the Great Gatsby During the 1920’s, the 18th amendment was passed by congress making all sale and consumption of alcohol illegal. This gave many opportunities to create corruption, spark reckless behavior, and create major issues and changes on social life. Many of these issues and changes in culture were successfully captured in the book the Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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The 1920’s was an interesting time in American history. This era was also known as the roaring twenties. Although it is remembered as a fond time before the Great Depression there was also a lot of conflicts arising, Cultural conflicts in particular were at the center. Prohibition and Immigration were two of the main cultural conflicts during this time period.

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During the 1920s, America seemed to be a land of glamor and luxury. Underneath the beauty, however, was a vast underworld of crime: bootleggers and gangs ran rampant, controlling even members of the government. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, he tells a tale of that decade, which appears glamorous but is filled with corruption. The novel makes a naturalism argument about the impossibility of changing social class, revealing that only a facade of mobility can be achieved through debaucherous actions.

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The only character in the novel who does not drink is, ironically, Gatsby. He devoted himself to a sober life after seeing what drinking did to his old mentor. Although these characters had unpleasant experiences with alcohol in the past they, for reasons unknown to us, continue to surround themselves with the smell, taste, and temptation that alcohol provides. In conclusion, prohibition and its effects have a lasting impact on the novel “The Great Gatsby”. It is present within the lives, attitudes, and mannerisms of all of the characters.

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1218 Words | 5 Pages

Additionally, the book portrays Gatsby’s parties, characteristic of the 1920’s, as examples of hollow decadence. The parties were filled with alcohol (which at the time was an illegal substance), dancing, rich

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952 Words | 4 Pages

He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong.” (7.127) Gatsby earned his fortune through the illegal sale and distribution of liquor. Rumors of Gatsby’s being a bootlegger circulated with partygoers in chapter four while indications that Gatsby may be involved in criminal activity are suggested in chapter five.

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