During the golden age of the 1920’s, glamour and vice were a cultural mindset and practice. Advances in technology and the film industry led to a lifestyle of extravagance and materialism which came hand in hand with the consumption of alcohol. Prohibitionists believed that alcohol was America’s curse and source of all evil. With the passing of the eighteenth amendment, purest activists hoped to achieve a decrease in sin and misconduct amongst the American people, however, the prohibition was ultimately a failure due to the increased liquor consumption and health risks, spread of both economic and social instability, and creation of organized crime.
The disputed topic of alcohol consumption took its roots during the 1820’s and mid 1830’s when …show more content…
A study conducted by Clark Warburton shows that even during the years of prohibition (1910 - 1929) the per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages in the United States measured by gallon remained steady and even rose to a measured 1.3 gallons (2). In addition to Warburton’s studies, researcher Mark Thornton states, “It should be noted that annual per capita consumption and the percentage of annual per capita income spent on alcohol had been steadily falling before Prohibition and that annual spending on alcohol during Prohibition was greater than it had been before Prohibition” …show more content…
Americans began finding alternative ways to manufacture alcohol which evolved into the creation of bathtub gin, moonshine, and distilled wines. Journalist Lisa Anderson says “Americans who sought to remain in the liquor business found ways to redistill the alcohol in perfume, paint, and carpentry supplies. They continued redistilling even after learning that many of these products contained poisons meant to deter such transformations ”(14). These home-made alcoholic beverages caused serious health problems. Researcher, Tara Burton explains that even though the majority of alcohol was banned from being sold, there were still some forms of liquor that were available for sale; prescription alcohol to treat bronchitis and other conditions was one and also industrial-grade alcohol which was designed for use in paints and floor thinners. Although these forms of alcohol were either undrinkable in large amounts or undrinkable at all, industrial-grade alcohol was commonly stolen and resold to consumers without warning. Burton states, “The week of Christmas, 1926, almost a hundred people died from the effects of drinking industrial alcohol. Hundreds more died in subsequent years,”
The disputed topic of alcohol consumption took its roots during the 1820’s and mid 1830’s when …show more content…
A study conducted by Clark Warburton shows that even during the years of prohibition (1910 - 1929) the per capita consumption of alcoholic beverages in the United States measured by gallon remained steady and even rose to a measured 1.3 gallons (2). In addition to Warburton’s studies, researcher Mark Thornton states, “It should be noted that annual per capita consumption and the percentage of annual per capita income spent on alcohol had been steadily falling before Prohibition and that annual spending on alcohol during Prohibition was greater than it had been before Prohibition” …show more content…
Americans began finding alternative ways to manufacture alcohol which evolved into the creation of bathtub gin, moonshine, and distilled wines. Journalist Lisa Anderson says “Americans who sought to remain in the liquor business found ways to redistill the alcohol in perfume, paint, and carpentry supplies. They continued redistilling even after learning that many of these products contained poisons meant to deter such transformations ”(14). These home-made alcoholic beverages caused serious health problems. Researcher, Tara Burton explains that even though the majority of alcohol was banned from being sold, there were still some forms of liquor that were available for sale; prescription alcohol to treat bronchitis and other conditions was one and also industrial-grade alcohol which was designed for use in paints and floor thinners. Although these forms of alcohol were either undrinkable in large amounts or undrinkable at all, industrial-grade alcohol was commonly stolen and resold to consumers without warning. Burton states, “The week of Christmas, 1926, almost a hundred people died from the effects of drinking industrial alcohol. Hundreds more died in subsequent years,”