Why Is Prohibition Important In The 1920s

Prohibition: (1920-1933) The 1920s were an age of dramatic social and political change. For the first time, more Americans lived in cities farms. The nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society”. Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production which took effect in January 1920. Importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages that remained in place from 1920-1933. National prohibition of alcohol (1920-1933) was known as the “Noble Experiment” which was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and

In October of 1929, the stock market crashed, leading to the depression. Wall Street was sent into a panic and millions of investors were wiped out. Investors began dumping shares in mass amounts. October 24, also known as “Black Thursday” was the day that 12.9 million shares were traded. Five days later, the day known as “Black Tuesday”, another 16 million shares were traded. After multiple waves of panic, and the wake of the stock market crash, production slowed to an alarming level. For the next few years the United States experienced a drop in consumer spending and investment, which caused a decline in industrial output and a steep rise in unemployment. Factories and other businesses were forced to lower wages and fire several employees. By 1933, thirteen to fifteen million Americans were unemployed, and nearly half of the banks throughout the country failed. Many Americans were forced to buy with credit causing them to fall into debt. To add to the stock market crashing and unemployment rate soaring, the United States suffered severe drought. The drought impacted agriculture greatly, and was seen to cause the failure of many farms. The United States fell into a food shortage soon after. Food became rationed to a very scarce level, people were hungry and poor. People became fed up with Herbert C. Hoover, because he seemed to not do anything about the depression. Hoover believed that government should not be able to directly intervene with the economy. He believed that the government is not responsible for creating jobs or providing economic relief for its citizens. Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a change for the American people. He claimed that Hoover 's “hear nothing, see nothing, do nothing, government” would be replaced with his plan, the New Deal. The New Deal was aimed at trying to stop the economy’s downward spiral