Should it be illegal for a person to consume or sell alcohol? While this question might seem laughable today, this was the case almost 100 years ago. The age of prohibition was a period in America’s history that took place in the early 19th century. This was a time when the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes was banned. The 18th Amendment of the US constitution and its accompanying National Prohibition Act or Volstead act was employed by the government as a means to curtail the use and abuse of alcohol. Though the intentions behind the act seem to be sound the act itself was unsuccessful in reducing the consumption and abuse of alcohol during this period since people just found different ways to acquire alcohol for their consumption. Beginning in the early 19th century some Americans felt that the adverse …show more content…
Prohibition historian Daniel Okrent argues that due to high sales of alcohol by drug stores and doctors during the prohibition Walgreens grew from around 20 locations nationwide in 1919 to over 500 locations in the late 1920’s. (History.com). In addition, those states that kept the ban on alcohol after prohibition was lifted were few. North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi maintained a ban on alcohol after prohibition was repealed. By 1966 - 33 years after the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment - all states had lifted their ban. Moreover, during prohibition it was relatively easy to evade authorities because of the widespread corruption that took place. It is generally thought that the majority of citizens who abstained during this period did not do so out of respect for the law but because those citizens were not heavy drinkers to begin with. (Miron et al, 1995; Behr,