Ayesa Mir
AP U.S History
Ms. Loveridge
20 March 2014
Against Prohibition
Prohibition was an experiment on morality, and emphasized by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) during the 1920s. It had been an intention to reduce crime, domestic abuse, and prevent addictions. Those reasons seem attractive enough to promote Prohibition laws. Unfortunately, the task was easier said than done, for the obvious backups.
1. Freedom: Taking away the rights of drinking puts a question on the individual’s freedom. It also doesn’t infringe freedoms of other people. Therefore, prohibition on alcohol would remove the freedom of drinking for many people.
2. Victimless Crime: Similar to the first reason, people should have the liberty to decide whether to harm themselves or not. Alcohol addiction is basically a victimless crime, since it primarily affects the alcoholic. Others can keep their distance away from the drinker, if he chooses to do so.
3. Underground or Black Markets: Those who desire alcohol, can still either buy it or make it, although at higher prices and seedier locations. These types of markets are forced to operate outside of formal economies, therefore, avoiding taxes or skirting price controls. Gangs would often smuggle drinks from Canada and the Caribbean, open up speakeasies, and allow people to have a fun time along with drinking their favorite alcoholic concoctions.
4. Safety: Alcoholic drinks made without government regulations can prove harmful side effects. The maker of alcohol may produce an alarming percentage, which can create fatal reactions inside of the human body.
5. Economy: Prohibition resulted in the Great Depression. Many people were looking for jobs, and government needed money from sales taxes. The smart choice would be to legalize alcohol in order to lessen the pressure of the failing economy.
6. Organized Crime: Criminal organizations will most likely gain money from prohibition, and in return, will promote other illegal activities. Which will also create more criminal organizations, such as “Bootlegging” and Al Capone. Plus, the illegality of alcohol will increase the likeliness of buying quantities from criminals, which funds criminal activity.
7. Society: Before the making of the 18th Amendment, people would stock up on alcohol in their homes, since buying it would not be all that possible. However, the Volstead Act stated that alcohol can be purchased, through the prescription of a doctor. Needless to say, numerous prescriptions were written for the sole purpose to able to consume alcohol.
This new law, called Prohibition, was a method used for reducing crime, assault on women, and avoiding alcoholics, which was advocated by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Reasons for Prohibition sounded highly attainable, but it was anything except attainable. People who drank claimed that their freedoms were being taken away; drinking did no harm to others, and a person chose whether to create conflict or not. The economy desperately needed money towards the end of the 1920s, and making alcohol legal again was the one out of many solutions. Gangs smuggled drinks from other countries, then built speakeasies to allow people to drink and socialize, such as the “Bootleggers” or Al Capone Producing alcoholic concoctions minus government regulations can possibly do more harm to the human body. Therefore, doctors prescribed “medication” (aka alcohol) to a large amount of people. Prohibition, in no doubt, had zero advantages towards America.