Overview of the Prohibition

The Prohibition

A Noble Experiment or a Disastrous Endeavor?

With the help of unions such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the idea of temperance being spread by these unions; the suggestion of a nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages spread like wildfire among Americans.   With many politicians and civilians pushing for the prohibition, the 18th amendment was passed in 1919, quickly followed by the Volstead Act.   However, with the rise in gang activity, bootlegging, crime, and murder; the 21st amendment was signed into play repealing the 18th amendment and Volstead Act.   The prohibition and temperance eras created a newfound sense of nationalism, a fresh start for some, an array of gang conflicts and bootlegging quarrels, and many controversial court cases.

The temperance era was the time period in which many leagues and groups pushed for either a limit or total ban of alcohol, or prohibition.   One of the more prominent groups was the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.   The WCTU believed in “protection of the home”; they used the slogan “For God and Home and Every Land” to express their want for abstinence from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.   They also adopted the quote, “Temperance may be defined as:   moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful,” from the Greek Philosopher, Xenophon (c. 400 BCE).   Another group was the Anti-Saloon League, who worked closely with the WCTU.   The Anti-Saloon League focused on the single issue of prohibition in which they worked with churches in assembling resources to help their cause.   In 1916, the League, with the help of Democratic Senator, Morris Sheppard, oversaw the two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to enact the 18th amendment or prohibition to the Constitution of the United States.   This new amendment was then sent to the states for ratification, and by 1919, enough states had ratified the bill, passing...