17,394
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 41:
Line 41: − + − + − + + + + + +
Prohibition in the United States (view source)
Revision as of 19:02, June 14, 2009
, 19:02, June 14, 2009→Repeal
The government continued to expect cooperation with the authorities to the end, and issued two scathing reports calling for tougher enforcement in 1927<ref name=rep27>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1a.html History of Prohibition Enforcement before the Bureau of Prohibition Act of 1927] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref> and 1931.<ref name=rep31>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1.html Report on the Enforcement of Prohibition Laws in the United States, January 7, 1931] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref>
The government continued to expect cooperation with the authorities to the end, and issued two scathing reports calling for tougher enforcement in 1927<ref name=rep27>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1a.html History of Prohibition Enforcement before the Bureau of Prohibition Act of 1927] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref> and 1931.<ref name=rep31>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1.html Report on the Enforcement of Prohibition Laws in the United States, January 7, 1931] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref>
=== Repeal ===
=== Crime and repeal ===
The [[Crash of 1929]] and the ensuing [[Great Depression]] carried with it the spectacle of widespread [[unemployment]]. The "wet" forces, never dormant nor idle, quickly created a public perception that if only the beverage industry were legitimate once again, many of these suddenly unemployed workers could be gainfully employed once again.<ref name=About/> The [[Association Against the Prohibition Amendment]] would quickly capitalize on this perception and run candidates for [[Congress]] that favored repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment.
The "speakeasy" (or "blind pig") was an illegal bar operated during prohibition (1920-33, and even longer in some states). Most taverns stopped serving alcohol. Drinkers found out-of-the-way speakeasies that would serve them,. They owners had to buy illegal beer and liquor from criminal syndicates (the most famous was run by [[Al Capone]] in Chicago), and had to pay off the police to look the other way. The result was an overall decrease in drinking and an enormous increase organized crime, gang warfare and civic corruption, as well as a decline in tax revenue.
Congress did pass the [[Twenty-first Amendment]] and, in an unprecedented move, bypassed the State legislatures and called for the special election of ratification conventions in the several States. Thirty-eight of these conventions--two more than needed--passed repeal in December of 1933.
The [[Crash of 1929]] and the ensuing [[Great Depression]] carried with it the spectacle of widespread [[unemployment]]. The "wet" forces, never dormant nor idle, quickly created a public perception that if only the beverage industry were legitimate once again, many of these suddenly unemployed workers could be gainfully employed once again.<ref name=About/> The [[Association Against the Prohibition Amendment]], led by Catholic Democrats, quickly capitalized on this perception and run candidates for Congress who favored repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment.
Women were influential in the fight to repeal national prohibition, especially through the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform (WONPR). Led by Mrs. Pauline Sabin, the group consisted primarily of middle and upper class women who viewed prohibition as a failure in terms of diminishing the consumption of alcoholic beverages, feared the influence of the speakeasy on the morals of the young, and believed taxes on alcoholic beverages were a needed source of government revenue. The WONPR combated the propaganda of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, supported anti-prohibition candidates for political office, and generally operated in an independent fashion. The group's activities during the late 1920's and early 1930's suggest a revision of the view that the women's movement declined in strength and influence following the adoption of the woman suffrage amendment.<ref> David E. Kyvig, "Women Against Prohibition." ''American Quarterly'' 1976 28(4): 465-482. [ http://www.jstor.org/stable/2712541 in JSTOR]</ref>
Congress did pass the [[Twenty-first Amendment]] and, in an unprecedented move, bypassed the State legislatures and called for the special election of ratification conventions in the several States. Thirty-eight of these conventions--two more than needed--passed repeal in December of 1933. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 and legitimate [[taverns]] reopened in most states.
=== Remaining Prohibitions ===
=== Remaining Prohibitions ===