Saoirse Scott
Cranston
US History 2
19, December 2016
Prohibition: An American Catastrophe
In today’s day and age, the word prohibition evokes images of an adventurous, party-filled, thrilling era where the fashion was avant- garde and the fun was never ending; it was the Roaring Twenties and times were a-changing. Unfortunately things only appeared this way, there was much more lying beneath the surface. In the wake of WWI, the United States was reeling from its victory against the central powers. The nation was in a state of utter merriment; all anyone wanted do was celebrate the end of the war and their great conquest. The country was plagued with gambling, prostution,underaged drinking, domestic violence, a lack of childhood education, …show more content…
Those in rural areas were not affected by the reforms and were losing money quickly due to bad crop seasons. They were no longer able to support themselves based off of farming alone and were the first to experience the backlash of the 18th amendment. The amendment was also widely ignored, as shown in the first visual document a woman stuffs a flask in her boot, a clear example of the complete disregard the nation had for this law. Even the president had his own private liquor cabinet. After the American people were told they were no longer legally aloud make, sell, or transport alcohol, they did it illegally. The prohibition opened the door for bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crime. Private nightclubs opened, often disguised as presumably legitimate business. These speakeasies were stocked with alcohol collected by bootleggers. Bootleggers who worked for gangsters like Al Capone, and this chain of criminal command was going on right under the government’s nose, while those who were supposed to be enforcing the law are being payed off to turn the other cheek. Prohibition allowed organized crime to take place, and the illegal sale of often times illegitimate and poisoning alcohol meant there was no tax being paid. Thus leading to people getting sick and the government losing billions of tax dollars. The economy was
Cranston
US History 2
19, December 2016
Prohibition: An American Catastrophe
In today’s day and age, the word prohibition evokes images of an adventurous, party-filled, thrilling era where the fashion was avant- garde and the fun was never ending; it was the Roaring Twenties and times were a-changing. Unfortunately things only appeared this way, there was much more lying beneath the surface. In the wake of WWI, the United States was reeling from its victory against the central powers. The nation was in a state of utter merriment; all anyone wanted do was celebrate the end of the war and their great conquest. The country was plagued with gambling, prostution,underaged drinking, domestic violence, a lack of childhood education, …show more content…
Those in rural areas were not affected by the reforms and were losing money quickly due to bad crop seasons. They were no longer able to support themselves based off of farming alone and were the first to experience the backlash of the 18th amendment. The amendment was also widely ignored, as shown in the first visual document a woman stuffs a flask in her boot, a clear example of the complete disregard the nation had for this law. Even the president had his own private liquor cabinet. After the American people were told they were no longer legally aloud make, sell, or transport alcohol, they did it illegally. The prohibition opened the door for bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crime. Private nightclubs opened, often disguised as presumably legitimate business. These speakeasies were stocked with alcohol collected by bootleggers. Bootleggers who worked for gangsters like Al Capone, and this chain of criminal command was going on right under the government’s nose, while those who were supposed to be enforcing the law are being payed off to turn the other cheek. Prohibition allowed organized crime to take place, and the illegal sale of often times illegitimate and poisoning alcohol meant there was no tax being paid. Thus leading to people getting sick and the government losing billions of tax dollars. The economy was