Do these sources support the view that the failure of prohibition was inevitable?

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Laura Hood

Do these sources support the view that the failure of prohibition was inevitable?

Prohibition was introduced in 1920. It banned the making, selling and transporting of alcohol all across America. The law was repealed in 1933; historians question whether the failure was inevitable.

Source A is from an American history book, published in 1973. It tells us about the reasons for introducing prohibition and then the consequences that followed. I feel source A does the support the idea that prohibition was bound to fail as it mentions that “no earlier law had gone against the daily customs, habits and desires of so many Americans” meaning that if so many Americans were against this law then they would join together and oppose it, causing an uproar throughout the country. The fact that it is their daily customs would have angered the people of America as they would see being able to drink alcohol as one of their human rights and if you make a law forbidding that then you would not receive the warmest response. With the law in motion a criminal boom occurred and that was the last thing they needed and was definitely one of the main negative results of prohibition.

Source B is an extract from a book about American History, published in 1979. It again gives reasons for the introduction of prohibition and then goes on to speak of the consequences. This also supports the view that prohibition would fail because of the lack of force the government were prepared to put in to stop alcohol in its tracks. It says that only 1500 prohibition agents were appointed however goes on to say that by 1928 there were more than 30,000 speakeasies in New York alone, making it an impossible task for the small minority of agents in the entire country to control the crime wave. Prohibition was turned into a money making scheme by gangsters who saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market and supply the “public demand” which was part of the criminal boom that evolved. A law that was openly broken by so many would never be taken seriously.

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Source E is an extract from a letter written in 1932, by John D. Rockefeller Jr., a wealthy industrialist. He had hope for prohibition however tells us of the true results after observing 12 years of it. He tells us that “drinking has generally increased” and that people would simply go to the speakeasy rather than the saloon, ignorant to the fact it was a crime. As well as this he says “a vast army of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly ignored prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened” and if there ...

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