Reasons for the introduction of and failure of prohibition

Reasons for the introduction of and failure of prohibition.

• Prohibition was introduced in 1920 by the 18th Amendment.

-Introduction reasons:

1. National mood: when the USA entered World War 1 in 1917, the mood of the nation turned against drinking alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League argued that drinking alcohol was damaging American society.
2. Practical: supplies of important grains, such as barley, were predicted to rise if a ban on alcohol was made.
3. Religious: the consumption of alcohol went against God's will.
4. Moral: many agreed that it was wrong for some Americans to be enjoying things such as drinking alcohol while the nation's young men were at war.

• In 1933, Congress passed the 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition.

-Failure reasons:

1. There was a small number of Prohibition agents to enforce the law: only around 1,500 in 1920.
2. America's huge borders made it very difficult for these agents to control smuggled alcohol by bootleggers.
3. Prohibition agents received low salaries, making it easy for people to bribe them.
4. Many Americans never gave their support to Prohibition - willing to drink at speakeasies. Speakeasies were bars that claimed to sell soft drinks, but served alcohol behind the scenes.
5. Gangsters such as Al Capone made money from organised crime.
6. Protection rackets, organised crime, gangland murders and crime in general rose during Prohibition when compared to when alcohol could be bought legally.