Free Essay

Prohibition

In: English and Literature

Submitted By fijjo81
Words 1066
Pages 5
The Role of Prohibition and its Fluidity The American Dream during the 1920’s was truly wonderful to Americans, and to some, was only a dream. This “dream” had just about everything someone needed to live an exciting and happy life. Money would not always be a problem. However, there was one thing missing from their lives that caused uproar. That would be the absence of alcohol in the daily lives of Americans. Prohibition, or the Eighteenth Amendment in the Constitution, made the production and consumption of alcohol illegal. Those who added this Amendment believed that alcohol was entirely bad thing. All it did was create problems, and to get rid of the source of it (being alcohol) would solve and prevent them. Sadly, that did not happen. Widespread law breaking and violence were two of the handful of issues created by this deprivation of alcohol. It was a law that had good intention, but ceased to be successful due to Americans’ strong desire for “some” unnecessary drinks. Prohibition was hoped to be beneficial to all of the Americans. It was the idea of saving America from sadness and sin that ended up with the creation of the Eighteenth Amendment. Looking at it from this point of view can make many people nod their head in agreement when said that Prohibition was a beneficial and overall positive thing. If it was thought to aid America and save it from any kind of harm, then people would never think of it as a hindrance to their enjoyment of life. However, the result seemed to be quick. Consumption of alcohol was not anything new. It was a part of American daily life because it was drank for literally breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Something so common and popular became illegal. Instead of Prohibition doing people any good, it lead to violence and law breaking. As stated in the book review of “Dry Manhattan”, 7 May 2007, “illegal alcohol fostered graft, organized crime, and violence.” The prohibition on alcohol caused many people to illegally obtain the commodity. Speakeasies, or establishments that illegally sell alcohol, started to spread like wildfire. Buildings would be disguised as regular shops such as drugstores, but were these speakeasies behind the scenes. Also in the review, it was stated that: The city’s immigrant and working class populations . . . resisted in great numbers by distilling their own alcohol and frequenting speakeasies. As the promotion of temperance groups grew, other groups opposed the increased alcohol restriction. These oppositions often led to fights. Mob violence became more common. Al Capone, a famous American gangster, was responsible for being dedicated to the smuggling and bootlegging of liquors. Many people were doing bootlegging business in secret. Speakeasies were kept quiet about, discussed privately. Not all individuals were partaking in these activities. Some who used to consume alcohol decided to switch to illegal drugs. People would use opium, marijuana, and cocaine. Patent medicines might have been abused because of alcohol as an ingredient in them. Other dangerous substances could have been an option since they would have been unlikely to be obtained during the absence of Prohibition. So basically, the eighteenth amendment was taken advantage of by many to use illegal drugs in replacement of alcohol since all the attention seemed to be taken away from them. Author of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, includes Prohibition in his novel. While the topic is not specifically addressed, it plays a major role in the success of Jay Gatsby. This man became extremely wealthy from bootlegging. Early in the story, you are given hints as foreshadows. “‘He’s a bootlegger,’ said the young ladies…” (61). His methods of obtaining his wealth wasn’t impressing, nor was it ideal during the time of the story. Tom Buchanan, one of the characters, says his thoughts on Gatsby to the main character, Nick. “’A lot of these newly rich people are just big bootleggers, you know.’” (107). The man Gatsby used his wealth in a specific way for one purpose. He hosted parties in his mansion for anyone to join. He never gave out invitations. The word about the events would spread quickly. The one major goal of Gatsby’s was to hopefully have Daisy, his one true love, to show up at a party. If she did that, he hoped to reconcile with her by telling her everything. Everything about him was done for her. He realized that bootlegging was the best way, even though it was illegal, to become very wealthy. Through this process of working, Jay Gatsby used his enormous wealth shape himself and his home in a way Daisy would hopefully like. If Daisy was satisfied, he was satisfied. Gatsby waited many years to have her close in his life again. The roots of all of his plans go all the way back to Prohibition. The eighteenth amendment made the production, sales, and consumption of alcohol illegal, causing a mess. People took advantage of that to get themselves into the bootlegging business creating potential immense profit. He risked himself by violating Prohibition to partake in this bootlegging. All of this was done to impress the person he loved, Daisy. He didn’t want her to worry about money whatsoever. Problems involving it would be nonexistent. Daisy would have a life without any worries thanks to Gatsby, in the eyes of Gatsby, that is. I believe Prohibition was used in this novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald because it was a key factor in allowing Jay Gatsby to have been where he was. Thanks to Prohibition in the plot, he was able to earn his money through bootlegging. As I previously mentioned, prohibition was a law that had good intention, but ceased to be successful due to Americans’ strong desire for “some” unnecessary drinks. Gatsby’s “desire for a drink” wasn’t exactly the alcohol, but Daisy. I believe he took advantage of the illegal value of alcohol to give him success. Prohibition, the eighteenth amendment, was a failure that hindered the American Dream to many. Americans used the law for their success, but under high risk.

Works Cited “Prohibition: America Makes Alcohol Illegal.” Cobblestone Apr. 2006: 44. Student Resources in Context. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. Thorton, Mark. "Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure." Cato Institute. N.p., 17 Jul 1991. Web. 13 Dec 2013. “Dry Manhattan.” The New Yorker 7 May 2007: 74 Student Resources in Context. Web. 14. Dec. 2013.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Prohibition

...Prohibition was intended to rid the world of the vices of alcohol, by outlawing its consumption and access to the common man. Alcoholism is defined as “a preoccupation with alcohol and impaired control over alcohol intake. Alcoholism is a chronic, often progressive disease. Left untreated, alcoholism can be fatal (Mayo Clinic, 2007).” Prohibition was a thirteen year experiment by the government of the United States to control the behavior and actions of the people. The results of this experiment were flagrantly negative due to poor planning and underachieving efforts on the part of the government to properly compensate for the efficiency and effectiveness of organized crime and bootleggers. This essay will illustrate the highs and lows of the 18th Amendment of the Constitution prohibiting the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol was impossible to enforce wasting time, money and government manpower. Over the years alcohol has become a permanent fixture in the lives of American citizens. To each and every American, alcohol has a positive or negative impact based on the individuals unique life experiences. Alcohol has been perceived as a conveyer of bad habits and the pitfall to the very fabric of positive living in America. All individual lives are unique and full of positives and negatives; however alcohol is the original “substance of abuse” and has had a major impact on the better moral judgment of its users (Mayo Clinic, 2007). This is nothing new however...

Words: 1961 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Arguments Against Prohibition

...Ultimately, the federal prohibition on alcohol throughout the 1920s served as a prime opportunity for the already established crime networks to expand their role in American culture and generate profits far beyond their best days in the gambling and prostitution businesses. Organized crime was structured on the local levels and did not have the systems of nationwide communication and dominance that grew to become commonplace following Prohibition. In essence, Prohibition was directly responsible for the organized crime of the 1920s but was in no way the cause of organized crime in the United States. Illegal trafficking remains a huge issue in the United States today although the demand for alcohol has since been replaced by a desire for foreign drugs. The intense violence between competing mobsters during the Prohibition Era has been transformed into vicious territory disputes between drug gangs across the country. Once again the federal government is unsure of how to solve the trafficking problem just as they found...

Words: 329 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Prohibition

...ESSAI Volume 5 Article 34 1-1-2007 The Rise and Fall of Prohibition in America Daniel Smith College of DuPage, essai_smith@cod.edu Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.cod.edu/essai Recommended Citation Smith, Daniel (2007) "The Rise and Fall of Prohibition in America," ESSAI: Vol. 5, Article 34. Available at: http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol5/iss1/34 This Selection is brought to you for free and open access by the College Publications at DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. It has been accepted for inclusion in ESSAI by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@C.O.D.. For more information, please contact koteles@cod.edu. Smith: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition in America The Rise and Fall of Prohibition in America by Daniel Smith (English 1101) n February 16th, 2007, a headline in the Chicago Tribune read in large, bold lettering: “Task Force Nabs $1.3 Million in Cocaine, Disrupts Drug Ring.” Open almost any newspaper on any given day and one is bound to find an article like this detailing the enforcement of the prohibition of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs, or gang-related crimes. The demand for black market drugs in America is alive and strong, fed by organized drug cartels from Mexico and other countries. To these drug lords, it is simple business mechanics; they have a source for their product and buyers willing to pay large sums of money for it. Even with enforcement at the borders and the occasional bust, their products continue to slip into the...

Words: 3386 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Ineffectiveness of Prohibition

...Miguel Ureta Mr. Lewis 11/12/2012 “Ineffectiveness of Prohibition” Prohibition was a period in which the sale, manufacture, or transport of alcoholic beverages became illegal. It started January 16, 1919 and continued to December 5, 1933. Although it was formed to stop drinking completely, it did not even come close. It created a large number of bootleggers who were able to supply the public with illegal alcohol. Many of these bootleggers became very rich and influential through selling alcohol and using other methods. They started the practices of organized crime that are still used today. Thus, Prohibition led to the rapid growth of organized crime. The introduction of prohibition in 1919 created numerous opinions and issues in American society. Prohibition has been a long-standing issue in America, with groups promoting it since the late eighteenth century. The movement grew tremendously during the nineteenth century. When the United States entered World War 1 in 1914, there was a shortage of grain due to the long demands to feed the soldiers. Since grain is one of the major components in alcohol, the temperance movement now had the war to fuel their fight. Thus, the war played a large part in the introduction of Prohibition. During the next five years many states enacted their own prohibition laws, and finally, on December 16, 1919, Amendment 18 went into effect. It states that, “…the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors…...

Words: 695 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Prohibition

...Prohibition: the Cultural War of the 20th Century The legal ban on the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol, within the United States, otherwise known as Prohibition, began with the ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919. In this essay I will talk about Prohibition and explain why it was so effective and talk about the prohibitionist side. I will talk about how who the prohibitionists were, and what did they seek to accomplish through prohibition and also, what strategies the prohibitionists adopted to carry out their agenda, and why and how were they successful. The prohibitionists were someone who supported the laws that made the production and sale of alcohol illegal in the United States. Many people wanted to get rid of the sale and transportation of alcohol because some saw it as being dangerous. It all started when these prohibitionists formed the Anti-Saloon League. Including men and women, this league wanted to get rid of alcohol for many reasons. Prohibitionists came from all over the country looking to put Prohibition into effect. According to the video, “The Time is Now”, people like Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford were even prohibitionist became they believed that alcohol was making their workers less effective and couldn’t give it their all because they were always drunk. So, these prohibitionists had to create a movement where they could get support from the people and get their votes to put prohibition into effect. One group who helped this work is...

Words: 1334 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Prohibition

...The Effect Prohibition had on Organized Crime The prohibition laws placed to enforced the 18th amendment was strictly enforced at widely supported at one time. It had a huge effect on a lot of people’s lives, especially gang and mafia members. Before I critically analyze the different effects that prohibition had, there must first be a clear understanding of what prohibition is. Prohibition was the legal prevention, manufacture, sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages. The idea of prohibition rose out of the religious revivalism of the 1920’s. So many people baked up the idea of prohibition, because they believed that alcohol played a big factor in the amount of crime that took place. In the process of people fighting so hard to get rid of alcohol the Anti-Saloon League was organized, which were a group of Protestants that wanted to push the prohibition of alcohol through political means. They used modern techniques to get to the state legislature and get prohibition laws passed, and this quickly led to a creation of a national body all wanting the same thing. Although, why the politicians and religious people were trying so hard to fight for prohibition, big time gangsters were fighting against. Bootlegging started; they would make their own beer and sell it illegally. Organized crime was at an all-time high, they would sell their bootlegged beer, and violence rose between the different gangs and mafia, because they didn’t want their customers taken away from them...

Words: 284 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Marijuana Prohibition Research Paper

...Marijuana Prohibition Was The Result Of White Power You must be able to ignore the racial roots of Marijuana Prohibition; the effect of discrimination on race has made this a popular topic. A lot of arrests for drug paraphernalia is mainly focused on Race. The amount of Blacks and Latinos that are targeted instead of White people is unbelievable. Why are people of color being singled out for public possession? Why are the statistics of the drug arrests for people of color at higher rates compared to White people? Because of targeting people of color we can't use certain drugs to help with neuropathic pain. Why is law enforcement targeting blacks and latinos? We need to stop addressing people of color for these drug charges so we can start...

Words: 985 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Drug Prohibition In The United States

...Drug prohibition awareness has struck people in many countries in the last decade of the 20th century. Not to mention, that some form of prohibition on drugs is incorporated in every country’s laws. However, the national drug prohibition was created as a subgroup of the alcohol prohibition in the 1920’s. Shortly after, during the 1930’s congress divided drugs and alcohol creating a new federal drug prohibition agency (Miron, 1995). Prohibition can be defined as a set of restrictions that focus on banning the production, distribution, and sale of drugs for anything other than medical use. A drug can be viewed as any substance that is consumed and is able to modify someone’s psychological functions as well as the structure of their organs. The...

Words: 1752 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Liqour Prohibition Act: the Case of Gujarat

...ABSTRACT The paper looks at the interactive relation of the prohibition act with market and stakeholders. The findings are based on interaction with different stakeholders and uses a qualitative research approach. LIQUOR PROHIBITION ACT: THE CASE OF GUJARAT Focus on Public Policy & Marketing Rahul|Edwick|Vishnu IRMA PRM 35 About the Authors Edwick P. Bilung P35027 PRM 35 Institute or Rural Management, Anand. Contact: p35027@irma.ac.in Rahul Singh P35170 PRM 35 Institute or Rural Management, Anand. Contact: p35170@irma.ac.in Vishnu Vijayan P35106 PRM 35 Institute or Rural Management, Anand. Contact: p35106@irma.ac.in Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 The Prohibition Act .................................................................................................................... 5 Background ................................................................................................................................ 6 Objective & Scope ............................................................................................................ 7 Objective of the study ............................................................................................................... 7 Scope of the study ...............................................................

Words: 3587 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Prohibition Dbq

...Prohibition, Bootlegging, and Rum-running in Erie The Prohibition Era was a time when alcohol was illegal and there was a lot of crime, violence, and mobs/ gangs. Prohibition was when the 18th Amendment was put into place, which is the banning of alcohol. Prohibition had occured because two main groups Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League (ASL), that had protested against alcohol because they thought it was bad. They had been protesting because they thought it would stop “combat abuse” and family abuse. One female that had been an enduring symbol was Carrie Nation. Carrie Nation had been part of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. “She became an early member of the WCTU and after a conversation with Jesus...

Words: 1059 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Prohibition Dbq

...nineteenth to early twentieth centuries led to Prohibition, which banned alcohol in the United States from 1919 to 1933 for the purposes of stopping crimes and domestic violence, increasing work productivity, and promoting responsible money management. Seemingly effective at first, Prohibition soon began to create a host of issues. Temperance advocates had been assured that Prohibition would not completely eradicate alcohol, but the Volstead Act placed such a severe ban on alcohol that people immediately criticized it. Soon after its implementation, people began opposing Prohibition through bootlegging, which remained a strong and competitive business because Prohibition officers often accepted bribes to turn...

Words: 999 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Prohibition Prohibiting

...Was Prohibition Really Prohibiting? America during the early 1900’s was not the most sober of times. People were drowning themselves in alcohol. They would not be considered today’s “ I might have a beer or two” kind of people, but rather like “ When are we getting the next barrel of beer” kind of people. In fact, some would say that they were drinking up to three times as much as us today. Along with that, they also started drinking whenever they could because no legal age limit was set until around the 1930’s. You were either the farmer that took his grains to make whiskey, the guy who would go out to rural areas for hard cider, or the rich fellow that would drink his evenings away on the fancy stuff. Either way you enjoyed your alcohol...

Words: 1281 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Prohibition Alcohilism

...Prohibition began in 1920 and ending in 1933 in the United States. The 18th Amendment started the law which mentioned all intoxicating liquors whether it be sale, transportation, or any other related alcohol usage is prohibited. The Volstead Act also helped in enforcing prohibition for the amendment. During this time there was a lack of support in trying to ban alcohol amongst many individuals and groups but the ban still continued on thanks to the help of the Anti-Saloon League. This organization enabled legislation for the enforcement of national prohibition beginning in 1920. Although it was passed and did reduce the availability of alcohol, it failed to do what is was meant to do. Prohibition directly led to the increase in crime and corruption during the twenties, the public health problems associated with bootleg liquor, alcohol substitutes, the irritated tensions between religious, racial, social groups, and political disturbance. A nation of drunkards was persistent in the U.S. Neil Dowe gathered thousands of signatures demanding the ban of sale of alcohol. It was passed in Maine but sooner decayed over years. Temperant walked the streets and drunkenness of was no more. People found loopholes around the law such as liquor sellers hiding it underneath their pantlegs called bootleggers. Men were more occupied on drinking rather than supporting their own families. Prior to the 20th century, there had never been national attempt to restrict alcohol production in the America...

Words: 1184 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Prohibition In The 1920s

...In the early 20th century, prohibition in the U.S was introduced, formed to reduce drinking and social problems. Problems such as family violence, poverty, crime and public drunkenness. Illegal alcohol use is prejudicial because it encourages gang violence and public threats. Thus, the 18th amendment was passed making the production and sale of alcohol illegal. The women’s Cristian temperance union which was also formed to ban the sale and drinking of alcohol. Including the Volstead act when the sale of alcohol was used as medicine. After prohibition was imposed, because of the 21st amendment it then repealed the 18th amendment. Therefore, causing...

Words: 1024 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Prohibition Dbq

...The forces that advocated for the Prohibition are women, children. People, especially women and children, were in favor of eliminating alcohol because alcohol caused jobs lost, life saving disappeared, and a lot of women and children beaten and abused. They became victims, People thought if there was no alcohol, they would a better life. After that, Lyman Beecher wrote the sermons and asked for an amendment to the constitution of the United States—Prohibition. People organized together to create a society that support Prohibition, which is a “society of reform drunkards”—Washingtonian societies. A lot of people came to join the Washingtonians, talked about their unfortunate experiences, and signed on the Washingtonian pledge. After that, tens of thousands of boys and girls organized the Cold Water Army and promised never to touch alcohol. In 1851, Neal Dow collected thousands of signatures on the petition and asked for a law to prohibit the sale of alcohol. The legislature of America passed the bill on June 2, 1851. Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard, together with Saint Frances, developed the Woman’s Christian Temperance...

Words: 513 - Pages: 3