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Background:
The 18th Amendment Prohibition began on January 16, 1919, marking the start of a nationwide ban on alcohol in the United States. This amendment made it illegal to manufacture, sell, or transport alcoholic beverages. One year later, Congress passed the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, which gave the federal government the power to enforce the 18th Amendment Prohibition. The law applied to any drink with more than 0.5% alcohol, including beer, wine, and spirits.
Temperance groups like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League strongly supported the ban. They believed Prohibition would make society more moral. In their view, reducing alcohol use would also reduce domestic violence, poverty, and health problems.
The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League’s temperance movement’s main purpose was to prevent alcohol consumption within the United States. By banning alcohol, the movement believed that the intended benefits of the 18th Amendment would push American society to be more moral. This includes reducing and preventing domestic violence, poverty, and unemployment. Additionally, the movement aimed to improve the health of Americans. The Anti-Saloon League was the most influential of the Temperance groups within the federal government because it did not require politicians to publicly change their drinking habits to gain their support. Rather, the politicians would vote in support of temperance policies in Congress.
Economic Impact:
The economic impact of the 18th Amendment was just as severe as the loss of personal freedom; people working within the alcohol industry experienced massive job losses as breweries, distilleries, and taverns closed. This also affected farmers who grew barley, corn, rye, grapes, and hops. For example, New York derived 75% of its revenue from liquor taxes. With Prohibition in effect, New York lost that taxable income immediately. At the national level, Prohibition cost the federal government a total of $11 billion in lost tax revenue. Even more, it cost over $300 million to enforce Prohibition. The unintended consequences of the 18th Amendment also included an increase in organized crime, bootlegging, increase in the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol being moved toward organized crime groups instead of businesses.
Social Impact:
The U.S. government passed 18th Amendment with the intention to protect the public health and morality of America. However, the cost of that protection came at the loss of personal freedom for American citizens to purchase alcohol for them to enjoy as a social pastime, either in private in their homes with friends and family or at public at saloons and restaurants. This loss of personal freedom resulted in many Americans starting to engage in civil disobedience and underground alcohol consumption to challenge the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act by going to secret bars known as speakeasies, home brewing, and smuggling alcohol from Canada and Cuba.
In addition to Americans ignoring the 18th Amendment and The Volstead Act corruption within law enforcement and the justice system started to rise as organized crime groups were able to bribe law enforcement in large cities, which were already overwhelmed by a large increase in prisoners due to alcohol violations which led to corruption within law enforcement and the justice system in large cities as police officers would ignore bootlegging and the justice system handing out light sentences to those convicted of violating the 18th Amendment and The Volstead Act due to threats against the judges or bribed legal officials. The corruption in law enforcement and the justice system also led to low enforcement of the 18th Amendment in large cities and the decline of public trust in law enforcement, as citizens saw police officers and judges openly accepting bribes from organized crime groups.
Aftermath:
This failure to control alcohol-related crime by law enforcement and the justice system also led to calls to end the prohibition, in addition to the shift in public opinion, and the Great Depression beginning in 1929. The repeal of the 18th Amendment was campaigned for by the Democratic presidential nominee FDR in 1932 as it was seen as a way to create new jobs for Americans and increase tax revenue for the federal government during a time of widespread unemployment and economic downturn. The 18th Amendment was repealed with the 21st Amendment after 13 years on December 5, 1933, making the 18th Amendment the only constitutional amendment to be overturned.
References:
Anti-Saloon League. Westerville Public Library.
https://westervillelibrary.org/antisaloon/
Constitutional Amendments – Amendment 21 – “Repeal of Prohibition”. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/constitutional-amendments-amendment-21-repeal-prohibition#:~:text=Constitutional%20Amendments%20%E2%80%93%20Amendment%2021%20%E2%80%93%20%E2%80%9CRepeal%20of%20Prohibition%E2%80%9D,-Bar%20patrons%20in&text=Amendment%20Twenty%2Done%20to%20the,sale%2C%20and%20transportation%20of%20alcohol
Eighteenth Amendment. Constitution Annotated.
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-18/#amendment-18
Twenty-First Amendment. Constitution Annotated. https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-21/
Macias, A. (2020, January 17). Prohibition began 100 years ago – here’s a look at its economic impact. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/17/prohibition-began-100-years-ago-had-impact-on-us-economy.html
The Repeal of Prohibition. The Mob Museum. https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/the-end-of-prohibition/repeal-of-prohibition/#:~:text=The%20beginning%20of%20the%20Great,Roosevelt%20Presidential%20Library%20and%20Museum
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