Prohibition Vocabulary Prohibition Era in American society where

Prohibition

Vocabulary • Prohibition – Era in American society where Alcohol is illegal • 18 th Amendment – Prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages. • Volstead Act – Congressional act that defined an “intoxicating drink” as more than. 5% alcohol • Speakeasies – Hidden saloons where alcohol was sold illegally • Bootleggers – Alcohol smugglers, carried liquor in the legs of their boots

Why Prohibition? • A movement to stop corruption: – – Child/Wife abuse Crime Accidents on the Job Other serious social problems • Led by groups such as: – Anti-Saloon League – Woman’s Christian Temperance Union – Many Protestants from South and West

The Effect of WWI on Prohibition • Fed off of Anti-German Sentiment – Most Breweries owned by German Americans – Anti-Saloon league called beer “Kaiser’s Brew” • Need to Conserve Wheat – Jan 1917 - Wilson instituted a partial prohibition in effort to conserve grain – Sept 1917 – banned a wartime production of beer – “Grain should be made into bread for fighting men and not for making liquor. ”

The Effects of Prohibition on the 1920 s • Normal Americans wanted to stop making sacrifices and enjoy life. • Little money given to enforce the law • Speakeasies opened up underground • Bootleggers began smuggling alcohol • Moonshine and other home made alcohol was created • Organized Crime developed to sell illegal alcohol at high prices – Led to a lot of violence

The End of Prohibition • By mid-1920 s, only 19% of Americans supported prohibition • Rise of crime and lawlessness had worsened, according to those who opposed the law. • Law was repealed in 1933 with the 21 st Amendment – result of Great Depression (jobs and taxes)