During the 20th century in the United States of America something strange started to happen with the citizens’ behavior. Starting around the 1920’s the county started experiencing an unexpected increase in alcohol related violent crimes and corruption of law enforcement. This strange increase of violent crimes and corruption started to occur around the same time the United States government passed Amendment 18, a new law that prohibited the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol. The connection between Amendment 18 and the increasing crime rate were directly related.
Leading up the 1920’s for the citizens living in the United States of America the consumption of an alcoholic beverage was a widely accepted daily routine. After a long day …show more content…
That was not the case according to an analysis report used by Mark Thornton on the alcohol percentage of distilled spirits sales between 1890 to 1960. In Thornton’s report, “Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 157: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure” the results clearly show a dramatic increase in the total “Expenditure on Distilled Spirts as a Percentage of Total Alcohol Sales.” The percentage of distilled spirits sales were at 40% before prohibition was put into effect on January 16th 1920. Over the short span of two years in 1922 the percentage jumped to 88%. It seemed that the enforcement of prohibition was having the exact opposite effect that it was intended for. With the increasing sales of illegal alcohol came an increasing crime rate. With the sales of illegal alcohol climbing the prison populations were starting to reflect the negative effect of the alcohol regulations. According to Thornton prohibition was directly effecting this increasing inmate population …show more content…
On December 5th 1933 the 18th Amendment was officially repealed by Amendment 21. In Amendment 21 section 1 states, “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.” With that short section came the end to a violent alcohol fueled decade. By the year 1938 the sales of distilled alcohol as a percentage dropped from 88% down to 42% according to Thornton’s analysis. This dramatic decline in alcohol sales resulted in a decline in crime as it relates to prohibition. In Thornton’s analysis he quoted a socialist named John Pandiani, "a major wave of crime appears to have begun as early as the mid-1920s and increased continually until 1933 . . . when it mysteriously reversed itself." This reversal in criminal activity was no coincidence, but a reflection of the failed government experiment.
In the end prohibition had an overall negative effect on society. The alcohol regulation put in place by Amendment 18 helped to fuel a decade of violence and corruption. Although the intentions of prohibition were noble as they were intended to help a nation of alcoholics reclaim their sobriety. The reality of prohibition was anything but a success. The laws put in place help to build a criminal organization that compromised the integrity of the American judicial system, devastated an economy and rob the people of their rights to
Leading up the 1920’s for the citizens living in the United States of America the consumption of an alcoholic beverage was a widely accepted daily routine. After a long day …show more content…
That was not the case according to an analysis report used by Mark Thornton on the alcohol percentage of distilled spirits sales between 1890 to 1960. In Thornton’s report, “Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 157: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure” the results clearly show a dramatic increase in the total “Expenditure on Distilled Spirts as a Percentage of Total Alcohol Sales.” The percentage of distilled spirits sales were at 40% before prohibition was put into effect on January 16th 1920. Over the short span of two years in 1922 the percentage jumped to 88%. It seemed that the enforcement of prohibition was having the exact opposite effect that it was intended for. With the increasing sales of illegal alcohol came an increasing crime rate. With the sales of illegal alcohol climbing the prison populations were starting to reflect the negative effect of the alcohol regulations. According to Thornton prohibition was directly effecting this increasing inmate population …show more content…
On December 5th 1933 the 18th Amendment was officially repealed by Amendment 21. In Amendment 21 section 1 states, “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.” With that short section came the end to a violent alcohol fueled decade. By the year 1938 the sales of distilled alcohol as a percentage dropped from 88% down to 42% according to Thornton’s analysis. This dramatic decline in alcohol sales resulted in a decline in crime as it relates to prohibition. In Thornton’s analysis he quoted a socialist named John Pandiani, "a major wave of crime appears to have begun as early as the mid-1920s and increased continually until 1933 . . . when it mysteriously reversed itself." This reversal in criminal activity was no coincidence, but a reflection of the failed government experiment.
In the end prohibition had an overall negative effect on society. The alcohol regulation put in place by Amendment 18 helped to fuel a decade of violence and corruption. Although the intentions of prohibition were noble as they were intended to help a nation of alcoholics reclaim their sobriety. The reality of prohibition was anything but a success. The laws put in place help to build a criminal organization that compromised the integrity of the American judicial system, devastated an economy and rob the people of their rights to