Research Paper on "Prohibition and Its Legacy the Period Leading"

Research Paper 12 pages (3593 words) Sources: 15

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Prohibition and Its Legacy

The period leading up to, the time during and the repeal of the 18th amendment to the U.S. constitution is one of the most interesting in periods in history. The whole social experiment surrounding the prohibition of alcohol marks a time in history when the U.S. government and some strong social forces united in an attempt to legislate morality. (Columbia University, Press) Though other vices have had laws passed to make them illegal the government had never tried to make anything illegal that was so widely accepted as normal, i.e. The consumption and sale of alcohol, and this experiment proved a disaster on many levels. (Thornton) What the prohibition period does leave as a bright spot is countless examples of fascinating social history and a few great legacies of interest. This work will provide a basic overview of the time leading up to, the period during and the period after prohibition when the U.S. started to get back to normal after years of social strife in part created by the prohibition experiment.

Though no one single group or individual was entirely responsible for the 18th Amendment as it was to a large degree simply a reflection of a minority opinion regarding social vices and the perceived negative effects that alcohol had on the family. The public sentiment, though a minority opinion was a result of a large influx of immigration from an area of the world that incorporated alcohol consumption as a vital part of culture. In combination the "promise" of America was largely unrealized by these immigrants and other immigrants who had given up everything, including their home and often their extended family to come to the U.S. The area of the world that brought this massive influx of peoples was Southern and Eastern Europe and they faced serious discrimination from the mainly Northwestern European immigrants already here and already influencing law and social services. More than 28 million people immigrated to the U.S. between 1880 and 1930 and about half originated from Southern and Eastern Europe. (Min 65) it was during this period that many social service industries emerged, in part to try to resolve the living conditions and problems of the massive new immigrant population but also to determine the ethical and moral principles that the U.S. would live by. Some great things came from this, child labor laws, workers rights legislation, local and national infrastructure building for sanitation, all various aspects of the growth of the Progressive Movement, largely a social services driven political movement. (Byer 29) Yet, the movement to prohibit vices, such as the consumption of alcohol also emerged as a product of the investigations and moral views of these helping organizations. (Seller 145)

From the development of social sentiment surrounding the use of alcohol as barrier to success in families and success of immigrants resolving issues that in many cases were outside of their control, poor housing, poor sanitation infrastructure and horrible working conditions, the idea of the abolition of alcohol became a social movement.

The development of many local and grassroots citizen founded organizations occurred during the period 1877-1920 and some were more influential than others. One of the most interesting culminated into one of the U.S.'s most disliked of all legislative decisions Prohibition. The Women's Christian Temperance Union, was a highly influential organization founded by a women and a citizen that sparked national interest in social issues that were disruptive to the social order. They were highly influential in the development of broad public opinion regarding the need of the federal government to change laws and alter standards of morality to redirect the populous toward more "family friendly" traditions and standards. (Rorabaugh 18-19)

Some endeavors to mold the larger society according to evangelical mores echoed the antebellum zeal for social reform. One example is the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1873 by *Frances Willard, who later became an advocate of both woman's suffrage and the ordination of women. The WCTU became not only the largest women's organization of its day, but a major voice for social reform. With the Anti-Saloon League, begun in 1893, the WCTU led the movement that brought the national experiment with Prohibition after World War I. It also saw itself as protecting the American family from destruction because of alcoholism. Although moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages was frequently part of immigrants' cultures of origin, evangelicals emphasized its connections to urban poverty and slum life. Even though the WCTU and the Anti-Saloon League in time called for the government to enact and enforce Prohibition, their thrust was primarily individualistic. That is, individuals were urged one by one to sign pledges promising to abstain from alcoholic beverages. (Krapohl and Lippy 33)

The WCTU made great strides in areas outside of temperance and some would say even delayed the development of universal women's suffrage (through the failing of the 18th amendment) but none the less shaped the future of the nation significantly in both the negative and positive. The WCTU was also a big part of the Prohibition Party, which became the legal fighting force to force enactment of the 18th Amendment. (Columbia University Press "Prohibition Party") Though there were outstanding figures in law enforcement and elsewhere who are seen as the major influencing factors to prohibition the reality is that abstinence from alcohol was a movement that was a product of a vocal and influential minority that wielded enough power to get it done and pass the 18th amendment but did not have enough power to make it a an accepted social reality. (Okrent 30-37)

It is also important in interesting to note that prohibition on a state level was rampant prior to the passage of the 18th amendment as 65% of the states had already passed laws that controlled or eliminated alcohol production and distribution. The U.S. should have learned from the state experiments because interstate trafficking became rampant, illegal bars (speakeasys) violence and illegal production and distribution of alcohol seriously taxed local law enforcement and other agencies. Yet, instead the national movement led mostly by the Anti-Saloon League and the WCTU convinced those on high that a national prohibition would solve the interstate problems that were associated with illegal alcohol activities, making the state and local laws enforceable. Yet, this was hardly the case as violence was more common and became even worse after the federal amendment passed. January 16, 1920 marked the beginning of prohibition in a legal sense as breweries, distilleries and saloons were closed and some even called the prohibition movement a patriotic aspect of WWI (Mintz)

In 1916, seven states adopted anti-liquor laws, bringing the number of states to 19 that prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. America's entry into World War I made Prohibition seem patriotic since many breweries were owned by German-Americans. Wayne Wheeler, lobbyist for the Anti-Saloon League, urged the federal government to investigate "a number of breweries around the country which are owned in part by alien enemies." In December 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment. A month later, President Woodrow Wilson instituted partial prohibition to conserve grain for the war effort. Beer was limited to 2.75% alcohol content and production was held to 70% of the previous year's production. In September, the president issued a ban on the wartime production of beer. (Mintz)

It could be argued that the Anti-Saloon League, and the Women's Christian Temperance Union as well as other prohibitionist organizations seeking to remove alcohol from the long list of the nation's ills, got very lucky in timing. The U.S. was in crisis mode and conservation of needed supplies for the war were foundational to the ratification of the 18th amendment as well as other preceding legislation and the idea of prohibition as a war cause also gave the groups and the government just enough push to get society to at least briefly support prohibition.

Additionally, it must be made clear that the 18th amendment (and most state and local laws) prohibited the manufacture and sale of "intoxicating liquors" and the meaning was expanded to include beer and wine, which many hoped would not be included as they were so much a part of U.S. culture. The Volstead Act which allowed for enforcement of the 18th amendment further expanded the definition of what was being controlled as well as illegalizing transportation of alcohol. (Mintz) Yet, even with this additional legislation:

Enforcing the law proved almost impossible. Smuggling and bootlegging were widespread. Two New York agents, Izzie Einstein and Mo Smith, relied on disguises while staging their raids -- once posing as man and wife. Their efforts were halted, however, after a raid on New York City's 21 trapped some of the city's leading citizens. In New York, 7,000 arrests for liquor law violations resulted in 17 convictions. Enforcement of Prohibition was originally assigned to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); hence, the enforcement agents who destroyed moonshine stills were called "revenuers." In 1930, enforcement transferred to the Justice Department….… READ MORE

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