The Impact Of Alcohol On 19th Century Americans
One big change on the social sphere came from the speakeasies, suburban country clubs and inner-city social clubs (211). Okrent says, “Prohibition changed not only where American’s drank, but who drank as well” (211). This is what Okrent calls the “sexual integration of the drinking culture,” (211) in which women and men drank in the same place at the same time. Women no longer had barriers when it came to drink, as they had in the past. Prohibitionists also fought for universal suffrage, public education and even federal control of interstate commerce, important points to consider that changed the world
In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in America (Doc B). Prohibitionists overlooked the tenacious American tradition of strong drink and of weak control by the central government. Thus, there was tension between the modernists and the traditionalists. Although the amendment was passed, alcohol was still distributed illegally. Actually, prohibition spawned many crimes, such as illegal sale of alcohol and gang wars.
The country was trying to control America’s alcohol problems by law. The ban on alcohol worsened America’s alcohol problem, in fact, it did quite the opposite of its intention. All caused by prohibition, America had an increased crime rate, death rate, and to top it off, America was losing slathers of money.
The progressive reform that had the greatest impact on American society was the 18th Amendment which made the producing, transporting, or selling of alcohol prohibited. It all began when the Anti-Saloon party gained an advantage during World War I. Women who began these reforms gained support because of their influence on the workforce. If the women had not helped by working men’s jobs during the war, it would not have been as easy. Another aspect of the war that contributed to the amendment's publication was the limited resources available. Since alcohol was made of food sources, many saw it as a waste of food supply that could have been used for “our boys at war”.
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.
Although many advertisements in support of temperance in the 1920s would have you believe that alcohol was tearing apart homes and creating bums, many of the actual reasons are tied back to national pride and religious motives. An address to Congress given by President Warren G. Harding on Dec. 8th, 1922, attempts to address the issues with prohibition and invites the Governor of the state to an open discussion. President Harding is a supporter of the 18th Amendment, but the majority of Temperance supporters consisted of middle-class Christian women. The average supporter saw temperance as a necessary sacrifice that would benefit America and more specifically the poor. Similarly, President Harding uses the idea of sacrifice and accommodation for the benefit of the Country to rally listeners.
The mid to early 1800s marked a dynamic period in America’s history. Powerful movements such as the Market revolution the Second Great Awakening gave way to new moral and socio-economic beliefs. These new found beliefs fueled a series of reform movement and earned this era the name the Age of Reforms. Although movements such as temperance restricted democracy in the US, to a greater extent, reform movements such as public education, women’s rights, and abolition expanded democracy by giving power and basic rights to women, slaves, and the lower class.
“Look at us. C'mon look at us! See? A couple of bums!” Joe exclaims to Kirstin regarding the harsh reality they are in.
Men increased their wealth and alcohol consumption. It was a period of change. Alcohol was the 'fun' in the 1920s, it spread throughout households as a necessity to have. The need to possess and manufacture alcohol had a powerful impact on society. Due to this extreme distribution, intoxicated individuals had violent outbreaks and increased criminal activity which caused American prisons to accumulate.
Every person has their own way of thinking and each have their own vital interests. The age of reform that took place between the 1820-1840’s was a set of awakenings for the people of the communities to realize some things had to be changed. The “American Temperance Society, founded in 1826” was used to reduce the consumption of alcohol within the communities (Seagull 4th, 440). The temperance movement cause people to have different reactions, some considered it to be an attack on them. The antebellum temperance movement caused conflicts because it interfered with the Americans freedom, freedom means the people get to make their own choices not someone making them for them.
The Eighteenth Amendment affected America not only economically but also promoted health and affected America`s crime rate. Specifically the United States of America seen a rise in American`s health such as liver health, in addition has seen a decrease in the economy and crime rates, related to assault and women abuse charges. My paper will demonstrate the ways in which America`s alcohol prohibition caused an economical downturn with dramatic fluctuations in the economy and changes in American societal behaviour`s. This will include an overview of America`s crime rates and economics before, during and after the alcohol prohibition to examine how America was affected by the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment.
What is the Article about: The article explains the mistake of prohibiting the sale of alcohol during the 1920-1933’s. It continues on to explain how making alcohol illegal led to an outbreak of black market’s and a hellacious amount of organized crime. The massive social experiment that had been created resulted in alcohol problems becoming worse. Method of research: Historical Analysis What did the article determine: The article determined that making alcohol illegal as a way to decrease crime had the opposite effect. Black markets were developed; homicides increased and large complex societies of organized crimes were created only creating a more hostile and dangerous environment for the people of America.
Similarly to the economy, culture clashes had a large effect on American life in the 1920s. Since the 1920s was known to be the “age of fun” many people found fun in parties and alcohol, and many people saw alcohol as harmless, but the government saw it as the root of all our nation's problems and decided to ban it in the 18th amendment. This angered many people but they found a way around it by creating speakeasies, which were secret places that illegally sold alcohol. Many gangs started to make alcohol and sell it for a profit, which made the government realize that they could tax the alcohol being sold, and thus created the 21st amendment which allowed the production and selling of alcohol. The KKK flourished under prohibition because they
John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government is echoed in the Declaration of Independence, particularizing the importance and necessity of the “consent of the governed”. Seventeen years before James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights enumerating “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” John Dickinson, author of the Articles of Confederation, wrote his Petition to the King, a formal list of injustices committed by King George III. The inherent right to peacefully express discontent with the actions of the government is the cornerstone of American democracy. In a letter to James Madison in 1789, Thomas Jefferson suggested the Constitution be rewritten every nineteen years.
During the 1920’s alcohol was beginning to be viewed as a problem. Many groups complained about the various effects it had on culture. Women complained that their husbands would get drunk and beat their wife or children. In the business world managers and company owners complained that alcohol was the cause of men coming in late and coming in drunk or hungover which directly affected
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