How Successful was Prohibition?

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  • Created by: Robyn
  • Created on: 18-02-13 20:11

How Successful was Prohibition?

Advantages

  • 50 Million Litres of Alcohol was destroyed in 1929
  • Alcohol consumption fell for many years after the ban was lifted. pre 1914 levels of consumption did not return until 1971
  • Elliot Ness & the Untouchables were famous examples of high standards of policing

Disadvantages

  • Drinking still continued and many of the 4,000 agents tasked with enforcing the Volstead act were fired for accepting bribes.
  • Despite the ban, alcohol was still easily available: there were 200,000 speakeasies across the US in 1933
  • The Ban made criminals from innocent people: Many turned to the black market to get their alcohol
  • There were adverse effects: Poor quality moonshine such as ******* Brandy could kill. (JB often caused massive internal bleeding)
  • The 21st Amendment was introduced in 1933 and the ban was lifted.
  • It was impossible to control the entire Canadian border, so a lot of alcohol made it into the US
  • Many Doctors prescription deliveries were diverted to "Stills"

Evaluation

If prohibition had been successful, there would've been no need for the 21st amendment, BUT the ban did reduce the countries alcohol consumption. However, many Americans disagreed with the law and so directly disobeyed it, often putting their own lives at risk in the process.
This combined with the fact that there was no ban on the actual consumption of alcohol because of it's medicinal properties meant that prohibition had only limited success.

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