Brandyn McKeen 1920s paper
“Prohibition has brought about nothing but trouble”- Al Capone. The 1920’s in America was confusing, as well as a developmental time for the country, with the roaring twenties following the great war, Women's suffrage, many new inventions, including the vacuum cleaner, iron lung, ovaltine, and of course,the ratification of prohibition. There are many nicknames for prohibition, from “the noble experiment” to “the worst thing that has ever happened to the usa”. Prohibition organized crime and disorganized politics, prohibition led to other crimes, specifically from mobsters including Al Capone John Dillinger etc… and had many other negative effects on the country. How did Prohibition negatively affect America? …show more content…
Prohibition was the main reason organized crime had started and hundreds of people died to gang violence in chicago alone, “Prohibition, which started as a "noble experiment" in 1920, ended up rolling out the red carpet for organized crime. Violence wracked cities as criminal syndicates fought over territory” (Peck, 3). Another reason for why prohibition didn’t work and led to organized crime is because americans wanted to be able to have a drink when they wanted more than the american government had planned. “But Prohibition didn't snuff out the liquor traffic as planned; instead, it merely deprived buyers and sellers of recourse in the courts when sales went sour. Bootleggers met the American public's undiminished demand for drink with a robust but unpredictable supply” (Peck, …show more content…
Including seeing a decreased crime rate, “Throughout most of the country, with many exceptions of course, a lot of cities saw crime rates decrease” (Sullum, 4). Although this may be true, it doesn’t excuse the excessive crime rates in the larger cities including Chicago and NYC. another viewpoint of the opposition was that prohibition cleaned up the public look of america to the rest of the world. “An intended effect of prohibition was to improve health and hygiene in America” (Sullum, 4). Although this may have cleaned up our appearances, this is counteracted by the fact that for 2 years, 2 people a day died of overdosing on methanol, which probably didn’t look so “clean” in the eyes of the rest of the world. Another viewpoint of the opposition was that alcoholics wouldn’t be able to go straight to a bar and spend their paychecks there, “Prohibition also made many people have to come to terms with the problems in their lives and now had no way to escape their problems via alcohol, these people who were debilitating drunks now had to bring their paychecks home and improve their lives in other ways, instead of getting “lost in the sauce” and forgetting about life for a while through alcohol” (Blue, 4). Although this may be true, it simply doesn’t matter, as long as these people are functional members of society, who cares how they spend their money? It is their life and they
“Prohibition has brought about nothing but trouble”- Al Capone. The 1920’s in America was confusing, as well as a developmental time for the country, with the roaring twenties following the great war, Women's suffrage, many new inventions, including the vacuum cleaner, iron lung, ovaltine, and of course,the ratification of prohibition. There are many nicknames for prohibition, from “the noble experiment” to “the worst thing that has ever happened to the usa”. Prohibition organized crime and disorganized politics, prohibition led to other crimes, specifically from mobsters including Al Capone John Dillinger etc… and had many other negative effects on the country. How did Prohibition negatively affect America? …show more content…
Prohibition was the main reason organized crime had started and hundreds of people died to gang violence in chicago alone, “Prohibition, which started as a "noble experiment" in 1920, ended up rolling out the red carpet for organized crime. Violence wracked cities as criminal syndicates fought over territory” (Peck, 3). Another reason for why prohibition didn’t work and led to organized crime is because americans wanted to be able to have a drink when they wanted more than the american government had planned. “But Prohibition didn't snuff out the liquor traffic as planned; instead, it merely deprived buyers and sellers of recourse in the courts when sales went sour. Bootleggers met the American public's undiminished demand for drink with a robust but unpredictable supply” (Peck, …show more content…
Including seeing a decreased crime rate, “Throughout most of the country, with many exceptions of course, a lot of cities saw crime rates decrease” (Sullum, 4). Although this may be true, it doesn’t excuse the excessive crime rates in the larger cities including Chicago and NYC. another viewpoint of the opposition was that prohibition cleaned up the public look of america to the rest of the world. “An intended effect of prohibition was to improve health and hygiene in America” (Sullum, 4). Although this may have cleaned up our appearances, this is counteracted by the fact that for 2 years, 2 people a day died of overdosing on methanol, which probably didn’t look so “clean” in the eyes of the rest of the world. Another viewpoint of the opposition was that alcoholics wouldn’t be able to go straight to a bar and spend their paychecks there, “Prohibition also made many people have to come to terms with the problems in their lives and now had no way to escape their problems via alcohol, these people who were debilitating drunks now had to bring their paychecks home and improve their lives in other ways, instead of getting “lost in the sauce” and forgetting about life for a while through alcohol” (Blue, 4). Although this may be true, it simply doesn’t matter, as long as these people are functional members of society, who cares how they spend their money? It is their life and they