The Pros And Cons Of Prohibition

Prohibitionists thought that drinking drastically reduced productivity, which directed Prohibition at the working class. They thought by taking the alcohol away, industrial efficiency would increase. “The wage-earning class, which prior to prohibition was probably responsible for about two fifths of the liquor bill, now probably contributed to not over one fifth of it” (Clark Warburton 93). Though, there were positives and negatives to this; being drunk on the job would clearly affect how productive workers were, and with Prohibition in effect, it would make the working classes work ethic thrive (J.C. Burnham). However, the negatives came with the successes of organized crime. The workmen would witness the “get rich quick” (John J. Horgan 227), end game of bootlegging. By taking away the alcohol it made it less accessible to the working class, unlike the wealthy who had many connections. The wealthy had access to all the alcohol they wanted. “The salaried, professional, and business class, formerly responsible for about half the total liquor bill, now contributed about three fourths of it” (Clark Warburton 93). They were able to disregard the policy and keep going with their drinking lives normally. “Not the least demoralizing feature is the development …show more content…
There was so much commotion and fuss over this; so many great arguments that Prohibition itself was wrong. A lot of the nation thought that the government and the people of America had lost there morals. The enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment only caused more problems than before. It is always tempting to blame all major changes of an era on a single reason. Whether it was a new trend or event that took place, causing negative influences on by social, political, cultural, and health aspects; Prohibition in the 1920s changed the world