Unit I - Prohibition And Temperance

Prohibition was a method used to eliminate the businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcoholic beverages of any kind, it began around 1893. This was the Eighteenth amendment of the United States Constitution. It revoked the license of all companies having anything to do with alcoholic beverages. Leaders of the Prohibition movement were concerned with the behavior of Americans when they drank, and this was partly due to the ever growing number of immigrants.

At this time the Brewing industry was one of the most prosperous or the alcoholic industries. The brewers were in competition so many sold in saloons. It was common for there to be 1 saloon for every 150 - 200 Americans, including those who never drank. To have an even great profit, some saloons would even introduce Gambling and Prostitution. Many Americans did not support saloons. Alcohol was to be banned since it was believed to be the cause of most of, if not all, crime. Some communities believed so strongly in this, that they even sold their jails once alcohol had been banned.

Prohibition lead to many things. One of them being Organized smuggling of alcohol from Canada. This was known as "bootlegging" or "rum-running". The term "bootlegging" actually originated from the time during which prohibition was in effect. Originally, much of the imported alcohol was cheap Caribbean rum. Since the rum was cheap, it sold for low prices, giving the "bootleggers" a low profit. That is when the "bootleggers" moved on to Canada. Now Canadian whiskey, French Champagne, and English gin were being sold for higher profits.


December 5, 1933 marked the twenty-first amendment, the end of Prohibition. The coast guard, which was used to stop "bootlegging" rum ships gained them the skills to later defend the U.S. coastline during the war.

I think that Prohibition was not the greatest idea that was ever decided upon. Blaming all the crime in society on alcohol was not entirely fair. I think that enforcing the eighteenth amendment, Prohibition, just caused further problems than everyone had to deal with before. Now they had both the crime from before, plus they had to deal with the smuggling. I really don't think that prohibition solved much. The money used to enforce the prohibition laws could have just as easily been used to stop the crime and leave the alcohol out of it.