The fact that the Government brought in Prohibition in order to gain support can be tied in with the fact that a lot of the alcohol consumed in America was made in breweries in Germany. In 1920 there was a lot of anti-German feeling due to the war, and many members of the public felt it that by drinking German alcohol they were essentially supporting the enemy. Propaganda of the time also taught the American public that the German violence shown during the war stemmed from the use of alcohol, and this contributed to the opinion that by drinking, an American was not being loyal and supportive of his country. This is linked to the fact that a lot people at the time had the general opinion that alcohol caused violence.
Furthermore, at the time people were beginning to realise that alcohol was not only harmful because it lowered inhibitions and caused violence, but also because it caused health problems and sometimes played a threat to people’s lives. “Many American men suffered from Sclerosis, which is caused by alcohol” - . This obviously made the families of those men who frequently indulged in drink more keen to see Prohibition introduced.
Linking in with the fact that the health risks alcohol posed meant an unpredictable and unstable future for the families of drinking men is the fact that these same men were prone to spending a large amount of money in bars and saloons. This had obvious knock-on effects- children and wives were neglected in favour of alcohol, and a lot of the income needed to pay for food or to cover other everyday costs was squandered. This casual wasting of money was obviously not good for the economy and disrupted family life across America, and so was an obvious reason for Prohibition.
This social impact that alcohol had on everyday life was a key factor as to why Prohibition was introduced, as it caused women around the US to set up the Anti-Saloon league in 1893 in protest. This group campaigned against alcohol, stating that it was the cause of violence, crime, poverty and bad health, and the pressure that it, along with other pro-Prohibition groups, piled on the Government was, I feel, one of the key factors as to why the Eighteenth Amendment was introduced. The anti-saloon league was supported greatly by religious people such as strict Protestants, who felt that drinking was immoral and unreligious.
On top of this, businessmen and companies fought for Prohibition as it was widely believed that the drinking habits of many men meant that production at work was suffering. The banning of the sale and manufacture of alcohol, it was widely believed, was help companies to become more efficient as less workers would have to take days off because of heavy drinking. This also provided a motive for the Government as by introducing Prohibition they would gain support from these companies and industrialists.
Although all of these factors played a key role in justifying why Prohibition was introduced, I feel the most important factor was the fact that the Government used the eighteenth amendment to gain support. This is because this can be tied in with many of the factors, such as the fact that the Government used Prohibition to effectively gain the backing of such groups as the anti-saloon league, employers, strict religious people, a large proportion of farming families and generally anyone else who was against alcohol.
Sources used:
DeMarco, N –“The USA: A divided nation” (Longman, 1994)
Kelly, N & Lacy, G –“Modern World History” (Heinemann, 2001)