Proibition

Prohibition was a phenomenon during the 20’s. It was not however the first campaign against alcohol, but it was by far the most successful. There had been numerous anti-alcohol campaigns during the colonial period. None of which were as successful as the national prohibition laws in the 20’s. For example in 1851 the Maine Law prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the state of Maine. By 1855 thirteen other states had adopted similar laws. During the Civil War alcoholic beverages were not allowed in the union army as a way to ration grain.

“It is impossible to tell whether prohibition is a good thing or a bad thing. It has never been enforced in this country” (LaGuardia). When the Volstead Act was put into place to determine specific laws and ways of enforcement, the Federal Prohibition Bureau was formulated in order to see that the Volstead Act was enforced. Nevertheless, these laws were constantly violated by bootleggers and commoners. Bootleggers smuggled liquor from oversees and Canada, stole it from government warehouses, and produced their own. Many people hid their liquor in hip flasks, false books, hollow canes, and anything else they could find (Bowen, 159).

The idea behind prohibition was to help stop corrupting influences in society. Instead it became a major source of corruption. From major politicians to ordinary police, everyone took bribes from bootleggers, crime bosses, moonshiners, and owners of speak easies. The Bureau of Prohibition had to be reorganized to reduce corruption. According to Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Lincoln C. Andrews, "conspiracies are nation wide in extent, in great numbers, organized, well-financed, and cleverly conducted." Despite extra resources and reorganization, corruption continued within the bureau. Commissioner of Prohibition Henry Anderson said that "the fruitless efforts at enforcement are creating public disregard not only for this law but for all laws. Public corruption through the purchase of official protection for this illegal traffic is widespread and notorious. The courts are cluttered with prohibition cases to an extent which seriously affects the entire administration of justice."

Prohibition increased the amount that people would drink. It also increased the availability of alcohol. It isn’t hard to imagine. The speak easies were small and well hidden establishments. Eventually prohibitionists lost control over the locations of places to drink. (Thorton) People began to go to illegal speak-easies which replaced saloons after the start of prohibition. By 1925, there were over 100,000 speak-easies in New York City alone (Bowen, 160).

As a result of the lack of enforcement and the creation of an illegal industry an increase in crime was the result. The Prohibitionists hoped that the Volstead Act would decrease drinking in America and as result of that decrease the crime rate, mainly in large cities. Towards the beginning of Prohibition this purpose seemed to be a goal witch could be met, the crime rate soon skyrocketed to nearly twice that of the pre-prohibition period. In large cities the homicide went from 5.6 (per 100,000) before prohibition, to nearly 10 (per 100,000) during prohibition, a 78 percent increase in serious crimes, such as homicides. Assault and battery increased nearly 13 percent, while other crimes with victims increased 9 percent. Many people in favor of prohibition argued that the crime rate had not increased. This is true if one is examining only minor crimes, such as swearing, mischief, and vagrancy. These did decrease due to prohibition. The major crimes, however, such as homicides, and burglaries, increased 24 percent between 1920 and 1921. The number of federal convicts during prohibition increased 561 percent. The crime rate increased because “prohibition destroyed legal jobs, created black-market violence, diverted resources from enforcement of other laws, and increased prices people had to pay for prohibited goods” (Thorton).

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