Table Of Contents By: Cole Phillips
How Has Prohibition Helped or Harmed America?-Pg. 2 Prohibition Pains-pg.3 Liquor Ban=Gangs?-pg.4 Vote Dry: Political Cartoon-pg.5 Prohibition: Good or Bad-pg.6 We Want Beer: Political Cartoon-pg.7 Prohibition Leading to Crime-pg.8 Crime to 50 Billion a Year: Political Cartoon-pg.9 Bibliography-pg.10
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How Has Prohibition Helped or Harmed America? Prohibition, the 18th amendment to the United States constitution, was advocated for by women’s rights organizations and the catholic churches. Prohibition was designed to cut down on the number of drunken degenerates in America who would commit crimes and beat family members while intoxicated, and it has worked! Statistics show that less people are getting drunk and arrested after the prohibition laws were passed than ever before.
In theory, it was a great idea, but in practice, it is not working. It has done basically the exact opposite in reducing crime. Organized crime gangs have been formed for bootlegging and other criminal activities like prostitution, cargo theft, fraud, and robbery. These crime syndicates gain lots of money and power through the illegal distribution of alcohol and have essentially become unstoppable. With all this money and power they pay off police and government officials, and if that doesn’t work, they will hurt or threaten people.
Obviously, these gangs are not doing good things for America. However, they keep gaining more and more money. By 1929, Al Capone, just one of the biggest gang bosses in the country, is projected to be worth roughly 100 million dollars. Why? Because American citizens are more than willing to consume illegal alcohol, even if it means they are helping some of the worst criminals the nation has ever seen. If prohibition had never been passed, these terrible gangs wouldn’t have gained nearly as much money or power and there would have been much, much less violence. It is easy to see that the bad outcomes of prohibition and organized crime gangs greatly outweigh the good that has been done by decreasing the number of drunks.
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Prohibition Pains Has Prohibition succeeded in ending the use of alcohol? By: Cole Phillips
Imagine wanting to go get a drink. Where can you go to get an illegal drink in this decade? Certainly you can’t just walk into any bar on the street. If you want to find a place serving alcohol you need to look towards the hidden trap doors and underground locations of speakeasies. Speakeasies are illegal bars where you can get a drink, just don’t get caught! There are lots of different ways to get yourself some alcohol though. You can try and get a fake prescription for “medicinal” whiskey, you can buy it straight from bootleggers, or you can just make your own. Many people have large stashes of alcohol since the law didn’t specifically outlaw the consumption of alcohol, just distillation and sale. Bootleggers are people who make and sell alcohol illegally. People smuggle alcohol across Mexican and Canadian borders. They also have a strategy where they pull up to the shore in a large boat and use smaller, faster boats to bring alcohol to warehouses on the shore. Churches were also allowed to consume alcohol. Some priests exploited this and got alcohol for non-religious reasons. People can also “wash” chemicals out of alcohol that industries use. This can be dangerous though because if the chemicals aren’t “washed” properly it can
lead to blindness, paralysis, or even death. But remember, if you get caught you can go to jail for 6 years and have to pay a fine of 1,000 dollars. I think nothing good has come out out of prohibition. People are illegally selling, making, and buying alcohol. Organized crime has taken over every major city in America. Gangsters are paying off cops.
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Liquor Ban=Gangs? Is prohibition fueling organized crime? By: Gage Netolicky February 14th, 1929. Thugs from George “Bugs” Moran’s gang were loading crates of illegal liquor onto a truck for distribution in Chicago when policemen came to see what they were doing. They all lined up along the wall facing away from the policemen for a routine check where the thugs could pay them off and continue the distribution of their liquor. While they were lined up however, the policemen produced Thompson Machine guns and shot them to death. These were no police men. They were members of a rival gang run by Al “Scarface” Capone. The Bugs and Scarface gangs were competing for places to sell their liquor, which often led to violence. The 18th Amendment to the U.S constitution has prohibited the sale, production, and consumption of alcohol and is meant to reduce crime and make The United States a better place. However, it has had just the opposite effect. Instead of making us quit drinking and making alcohol, previously law abiding citizens are now willing to break the law to get a hold of a drink. This demand for illegal alcohol has led to secret distilleries which make the alcohol and organized crime gangs which distribute the alcohol. Using the money they collect from bootlegging, these crime empires are able to pay off officials and law enforcement to do whatever they want. Essentially, they run the country. Big players like Bugs and Scarface are untouchable, guarded by armies of thugs and by huge cushions of cash. They fight bloody battles in the streets of densely populated cities for the right to distribute alcohol to speakeasies and individuals all across America.
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Prohibition: Good or Bad? Should the U.S. repeal prohibition? By: Cameron Davis
For many years, families suffered because of the drunkenness of husbands. Paychecks were spent on liquor and booze and many housewives were struggling to keep up with their households. This all changed with the passage of the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment banned the sale and consumption of alcohol. Those husbands who were spending their paychecks on alcohol could now focus on supporting their families. There was a decrease in wives getting beat by drunk husbands, there was not as many drunk people lying all over cites. However, the failures of Prohibition have overshadowed any successes. People failed to acknowledge the prohibition, people started to make and alcohol in their bathtubs then sell it later, organized crime started to sprout all across America, people took to the streets and started to campaign against prohibition.
The 21st amendment repealed Prohibition which repealed the 18th amendment and made alcohol legal again. Many people would campaign against Prohibition but the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform led the drive for the repeal against Prohibition. Herbert Hoover's win over AI Smith was horrible for the Wet’s, because he ensured that Prohibition would stay. But in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office and nine months later the 21st amendment took place and was ratified on December 5, 1933.
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Prohibition Leading to Crime? Is organized crime becoming a threat to America? By: Tanner Knight
The U.S. Government thought banning alcohol would decrease the amount of crime. This, however, actually made the problem worse. Bootlegging is the illegal distillation of alcoholic beverages. This became very common when the 18th amendment was ratified to the Constitution. This amendment banned alcohol. Even though this happened, the law enforcement did not have enough power to consistently enforce prohibition. Along with bootlegging, there were speakeasies, or illegal liquor stores or nightclubs. These were capitalized on organized crime. There were many competitions and rivals between gangs. On the flip side, some gangs decided to collaborate and cooperate with each other. One of the most notorious gangsters was Al Capone. In 1927, his wealth was close to $100 Million. On February 14, 1929, in a parking garage in Chicago, members from George “Bugs” Moran’s gang were loading alcohol into a truck when men dressed as police walked in with Tommy guns. They lined them up against the wall and shot them to death. This was known as the Valentine’s Day Massacre.
There are many factors of organized crime; threats, intimidation, and bodily violence. There may have been jury tampering or the bribing of judges, so that they didn't get prosecuted. Illegal gambling provided for even uglier forms of organized crime.
There are many types of organized crime such as cargo theft, fraud, robbery, kidnapping for ransom, and selling of drugs. There was a tremendous growth in crime during prohibition. After the 18th Amendment, crime got more and more organized. The total amount of crime amounted to $50 billion a year!
I believe that organized crime is becoming a threat to America and that it could become worse through time. Gangs have become more and more dangerous as time goes on and we need to figure out how to get rid of crime before it gets worse.
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Bibliography Blumenthal, Karen. Bootleg Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition. Paw Prints, 2013. " Britannica School ." School.eb.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 23 Oct. 2019. Marciano, Tracy, and Tracy Marciano. "Before Repeal Day Ended Prohibition In 1933: Speakeasies And Medicinal Whiskey Were All The Rage | 6Sqft." 6sqft. N. p., 2019. Web. 6 Nov. 2019. "Organized Crime Cartoon - Google Search." Google.com. N. p., 2019. Web. 28 Oct. 2019. political cartoon - Google Search "Prohibition Political Cartoon - Google Search." Google.com.prohibition N. p., 2019. Web. 28 Oct. 2019. "Prohibition." Khan Academy. N. p., 2019. Web. 23 Oct. 2019. "St. Valentine’S Day Massacre." HISTORY. N. p., 2019. Web. 25 Oct. 2019. "Wets & Drys, America In The 1920S, Primary Sources For Teachers, America In Class, National Humanities Center." Americainclass.org. N. p., 2019. Web. 22 Oct. 2019.
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