The Prohibition experiment of the 1920's

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HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THAT THE PROHIBITION EXPERIENT OF THE 1920’S WAS A FAILURE?

Nadirah Kaba L6DK

The Prohibition experiment of the 1920’s was originally introduced mainly because of pressure from groups such as the Anti-saloon league. However reasons such as World War I, public safety and the general concern for the state of morality within the USA also contributed to Congress passing the Volstead Act in 1920. After thirteen years of America being ‘dry,’ and much debate, President Roosevelt repealed Prohibition in 1933 after declaring the ‘noble experiment’ had been a failure.’

Today the period of thirteen years within America where alcohol was illegal is often referred to as an ‘experiment.’ This word alone implies that it was a futile period within America’s history, as the noble act of banning alcohol didn’t last. Prohibition is also thought of as a social experiment, these are conducted to see whether change can or cannot be brought about within society. Although the period of Prohibition didn’t stop the American people drinking completely, which was its aim, the amount of alcohol consumed had gone down by 1933 when the Volstead act was repealed.

Whether or not the Prohibition experiment of the 1920’s within the USA, was a failure or not has long since been debated. There were a number of reasons why it failed, but against these arguments there were also reasons why it was originally passed and why although it was repealed it did succeed in it’s aim of making the American people drink less, it is these argument which I am going to aim to address in this essay and then come to a conclusion as to whether or not Prohibition was a success or a failure.

During the period of Prohibition, crime rate more than doubled, especially when it came to organised crime and gangsterism. Although ordinary crime rate increased, this could be due to the fact that in the period before Prohibition police officials were not picking people up for alcohol-related offences as much and after the Volstead Act was passed, as they now felt obliged to. However there was a large amount of corruption within police officials and many turned a blind eye to bootlegging and the consumption of alcohol. Therefore it is hard to say how much the crime rate actually did go up after Prohibition was passed.

Whilst we cannot be certain about ordinary crime rate, what we do know for a fact is that during the Prohibition period organised crime was at its peak. Big gang leaders such as John Torrio and after him Al Capone made millions of dollars through illegal speakeasies, bootlegging, prostitution and gambling. Between 1920-1925 alone John Torrio made a turnover of thirty million dollars from organised crime before retiring to Italy. His successor Al Capone however lasted more than five years and made billions of dollars from his exploitations before finally being prosecuted for tax evasion in 1932.

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Al Capone was the biggest and most famous gang leader in America at the time, he was not only a media star but he also saw himself as embodying the spirit of free enterprise in the USA. He not only involved himself in organised crime but in politics and community affairs as well. In a time when government intervention was a popular policy, Capone couldn’t see that his links to organised crime were wrong, as he didn’t believe that the government should involve themselves directly in the lives of people.

The number of crimes linked to gangs increased ...

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