The 6th Amendment was called the "supremacy clause" because a suspect didn’t have to answer any questions asked .The 6th Amendment read:
"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land"
and the 10th Amendment which read:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
all led to problems with the 18th Amendment.
It is clear that all the above arguments against alcohol played key roles in the start of Prohibition. We can also see that President Hoover’s policy of “non intervention” pursued by him during the 1920’s left the American people to their own devices. Hoover passed the 18th Amendment for two main reasons:
1. There was mounting pressure from the women’s Christian Temperance Movement and from the Anti-Saloon league.
2. If Hoover did not pass prohibition he would lose votes.
Overall Hoover knew that if he didn’t pass the 18th Amendment he would be voted out in the next election for a President that would pass Prohibition.
2) DISCUSS SOME OF THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE PROHIBITION ERA IN THE U.S.A. BETWEEN 1919 AND 1933
During the “Golden Age” (the 1920s) America was extremely rich; this was due to the fact that America had followed a policy of isolation from Europe during wars and so this meant that America was prosperous after world war one. America was one of the few countries that profited from the war by selling goods such as steel and oil to its wartime Allies.
During this time there was also a new social culture born called “Jazz” which tied in with the glamour of Hollywood and the movies.
This decade was also saw the increase of “high profile” “Gangsters” Gangsters who were responsible for, criminal acts, smuggling alcohol to “Speakeasies” (illegal bars which sold alcohol) tax evasion, violence and corruption. One such high profile gangster was “Al Capone” or “Scar face” (who was eventually charged for tax evasion).
All Americans seemed to have money to spend and credit was easy to obtain from banks and loan sharks. Most Americans shared in the “boom” of the Golden Age, radios, domestic appliances, cars, especially the model T ford, were within ordinary Americans reach. Suddenly the good times ended in 1929 with the Wall Street crash. The American economy crashed because people had bought too much on credit and “on the margin” (a loan to buy shares) during the Bull Market Rush and were unable to keep up with their payments when times got bad .Share prices hit rock bottom and the middle classes who had relied on their share dividends for their income suddenly found that all the stock they held was worthless and so they had no money. Investors desperately tried to sell any shares they held so the prices sank even lower. It was a vicious circle. With shares worthless companies were unable to keep going and closed. Many companies had over produced goods believing there was a larger market for them than there was this meant that companies had to lay off workers .Economically the U.S.A. was in a downward spiral which led to mass-unemployment which led to depression.
Once the “Depression” had struck America there were millions unemployed. In the cities, companies such as “Ford” cut it’s workforce by half since the “fat cats” could no longer afford to keep paying wages. Rural areas were also affected, farmers were losing profits because of over-production,ie grain which was just being stored and not sold .This led to prices plummeting.
After “the Kreditanstalt” (an Austrian Bank) went bankrupt in 1931 there was a further collapse in confidence in world banking. This in turn led to America demanding the early repayment of loans from other countries especially Germany. The U.S.A.and other countries such as Germany were all spiraling into debt.
Germany’s economy collapsed because they were unable to pay America the “Dawes and Young plans” (loans) early. This led to Germany falling back into depression which it was just recovering from. This in turn led to a growth in popularity for the Nazi Party, who offered a way out of the depression, and strengthened Hitler (two years later he was Chancellor).
The social effects for America were devastating i.e. Suicide rates amongst men was at its peak during 1929-33. Unemployment was high and men were competing for jobs. Malnutrition and birth defects were commonplace. In a situation like this Whites turned on Blacks. Black men were seen as filling white men’s jobs; instead, the reality was that Black people became a cheap source of labor, often doing menial jobs eg. Cleaning toilets simply to make a living .Poor harvests meant those Americans living in rural areas of the “deep south” were hard hit, often selling up and migrating to urban areas which added to unemployment. Men turned to alcohol to save themselves from the reality of their meager existence. Gangsters saw this vulnerability and exploited it .This all led to a rise in crime ,mob violence, the St Valentines Day Massacre .We can also see the growth of the Klu Klux Klan ( a racist group who hated black people, the Jews, Catholics and immigrants). This group was mainly run by white Anglo Saxon Protestants (W.A.S.P.s). Companies such as Ford used this racial tension between black and white workers for their own profit. Forcing white workers to work for lower wages by giving them the impression that they were easily replaceable .There was always a black man willing to do their job for less money.
Now that America was in a full depression all classes of Americans looked towards the Government for help. Hoover and his Government had been shown up when the Gangster Al Capone had opened “soup kitchens” for the unemployed .This act brought a degree of glamour to gangsters in general and a lot of people thought it was wrong and ironic that criminals were to be seen doing more for the poor than their own government. Hoover‘s policy of “non intervention” just made things worse and when Hoover finally did start helping Americans with “the Hoover Dam” (which was a government project designed to give jobs to the unemployed) it was seen “as too little too late.” and in 1932 Hoover was voted out of office.
During the mid to late 1929’s it became clear that there was a rise in health problems caused in part by the drinking of illegal alcohol .This was because some gangs were overseeing the distilling of illegal alcohol, “moonshine gin” or “bathtub” gin, which could cause blindness, kidney damage and sometimes even be so toxic that it could led to death. One of the reasons that gangsters gained so much power so quickly was because some people were willing to pay a lot of money for illegal alcohol to escape the misery of no food, no work and no hope for a few hours. Gangsters were better equipped for crime because of new technology such as the new cars, phones and also weapons being imported from the Ex-German army and later on the “Thompson gun” arrived. Gangsters were also good at bribing people to get what they wanted; Bribery sometimes went as high as judges. Some Gangster activities actually led to improvements in conditions for ordinary people for example soup kitchens, more dock work, due to alcohol and weapons being smuggled in from Europe, which was run by “the Longshoremen’s Union” and more transport labour ,which involved bootlegging alcohol(mainly whiskey) from Canada, this was run by the “Teamsters Union”.
Without a doubt the biggest social effect of the prohibition era was President Hoover being voted out and Frank D. Roosevelt being voted in as President in 1932. This was because Hoover ignored the American people when they asked for Prohibition to be repelled because of the social chaos which was reported in the Wickersham report.
3a. WHAT OTHER INDUSTRIES BOOMED IN THE 1920’S AND WHY?
During the 1920’s many industries boomed in the U.S.A., this was because of tax cuts from the pro-business “Republican” Government. The main reason industries “boomed” was because of President Hoover’s policy of “non intervention” which meant that businesses had more freedom to do what they wanted without Government interference. The businesses that boomed were soft drink industries ie.Coke and Pepsi Cola.
The “Ford –Mc Cumber Act of 1922” meant that foreign imports had higher tariffs. Tax on imported goods meant they cost more to buy. This led to an increase in people buying American goods which were cheaper. This in turn led to more manufacture which then led to more jobs being created. The European competition for international markets had been temporarily weakened by World War One and demands for post war recovery led to a growth in U.S. export markets, reflecting “supply and demand”.
Many businesses had made large profits during World War One this meant that these companies had the money to expand, for example the Ford Motor industry, owned by Henry Ford who supported the Anti Saloon League, boomed. The manufacture of Henry Ford’s “Model T” car had a domino effect on the economy. This was because the demand for cars led to a huge increase in demand from steel, leather, glass, paint, rubber and nickel industries .This meant an increase in jobs, which led to an increase in employment which meant more people had money to spend on luxury goods. More cars meant an increase in highways which led to a demand for construction workers. Cars needed fuel to run on, Petrol, which led to a boom in companies such as “Esso Oil” which was owned by John D Rockefeller.
Many companies could now afford to advertise their goods by advertising on T.V./radio; billboards etc.Advertising was seen to work because by 1929 four point nine million radios had been sold. Middle class families were now able to afford to buy luxury items such as washing machines, radios and vacuum cleaners .By 1927,” sixty three percent of American homes had electricity” this meant that there was a huge market for electrical appliances. This demand mirrored the American dream of power and success. Success was measured by material gain
Ford cars were now being sold far cheaper than before because of the introduction of the “conveyor belt and assembly line.” However this must be seen in context. On one hand an improvement could be seen in working conditions because each man was responsible for one job but this led to workers being bored and so having a quick sip of alcohol (legal or illegal) at break times etc. Repetitive jobs caused long term health problems. With the repetitive nature of each task leading to back injuries or arthritis etc. Workers were employed on a lower wage because their job was less labor intensive. The assembly line and the conveyor belt also de-skilled workers which meant that Ford could employ them at a lower wage. By 1929 “one in five Americans owned a car”. In 1929 Ford’s factory was able to produce a car “every minute”. It was soon apparent that production was outstripping demand especially in 1929.
The soft drink “Coca Cola” also saw a sharp rise in demand .This was due to the fact that coke could be added, in a glass, to moonshine alcohol to make the alcohol invisible and was often enjoyed, once Prohibition was introduced, on its own with people substituting “Coca Cola” for alcohol. (Research shows that the addictive nature of “Coca Cola” was due to the fact that it did contain trace elements of Coke the drug). This together with glossy advertising made the drink irresistible and so abated cravings for alcohol.
Even though many Americans were comfortably off the lure of something “for nothing” led many, particularly, middle class Americans to speculate on the” Stock Market” .The middle classes were able to buy stocks by “buying on the margin”, this was a loan to buy stocks .The middle classes saw this as a “get rich quick” scheme and started buying up any stocks they could in the hope of making money. All sections of society enjoyed success and were not afraid to display their wealth. People were spending their free time listening to jazz music going to the cinema (“flicks”) and not visiting illicit “drinking dens” where illegal alcohol could be consumed.
To conclude many industries boomed in the U.S.A. because the government followed a policy of isolationism, this meant that America was not affected by Europe’s problems; in turn this meant that America had a strong economy and was able to supply the demand for goods required by the American people.
3b. WHY WAS PROHIBITION REPEALED?
Prohibition was repealed by congress in 1933 for many reasons. One was the new government which was led by the Democrat Frank d. Roosevelt. Roosevelt came to power by defeating Hoover in a landslide victory. Hoover lost the election because he was still campaigning for prohibition and later having a referendum. At this time Hoover and prohibition were being blamed for the “Depression”. This was because Hoover had stuck to his policy of “non-intervention” by not helping America once the depression struck. Prohibition was blamed because many jobs had destroyed in Brewing, Distilling and Agriculture to name but a few. It was believed that the enforcement of Prohibition was wasting much needed tax revenues. President Hoover supported Prohibition at a time it was being used as a scape goat for the Depression.
Once Roosevelt was in power he put forward the 21st Amendment as part of the “New Deal”, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment which brought in Prohibition. The Government desperately needed money, and taxing alcohol would bring money in to fund the “New Deal”. The New Deal was the Government’s scheme to take the country out of the Depression, for example, the ABC companies, which helped companies and farmers. Congress passed the “Beer –Wine Revenue Act” in 1933 on the 22nd March. This allowed the Government to tax alcohol and so fund government coffers
Instead of Prohibition stopping people from drinking alcohol it led to honest Americans committing criminal acts in order to drink. Despite getting 300,000 convictions for drinking between 1920 and 1930 drinking continued also the enforcement agents that were employed to enforce the Prohibition laws were poorly paid. This meant that some officers were persuaded to take bribes from gangsters running “speakeasies” and turned a blind eye to the “rackets” taking place .Sometimes bribery went as high as Judges, so even if gangsters were caught they could still be let off. There were some enforcement officers who would not accept bribes. They were given the nickname “The Untouchables” (they included Elliot Ness and, surprisingly, Al Capone’s half brother).
President Hoover described Prohibition as “a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far reaching in purpose”. This shows that when Prohibition was brought in Hoover (as did most of America) believed Prohibition to be a good idea however as time went on America realized that Prohibition had brought organized crime to their doorsteps. The Wickersham Commission reported (taken in 1931) showed that America believed that “the Prohibition laws were unenforceable and encouraged public disrespect for laws in general” This meant that Prohibition was actually acting as a catalyst for crime because when Americans were breaking one law that they didn’t agree with and were getting away with this led them to view other laws with the same laisse faire attitude.
Prohibition also led to a wave of organized crime led by several different gangs. Al Capone was one of the most famous Gang leaders of the prohibition era. He dominated Chicago’s underworld, dealing in bootleg liquor, extortion, white slavery, prostitution, and other rackets. He also controlled the corrupt administration of Major Bill Thompson. He was finally indicted for federal income tax evasion in 1931 and was sent to prison.
The passing of the 19th Amendment meant that American women were now able to vote. Women tended to vote against prohibition Pro alcohol propaganda was also being spread saying that alcohol had “therapeutic value” “had no harmful effect on fertility” and “most medicines contained some alcohol” With better medical knowledge we now know all of the above to be incorrect and in fact the complete opposite to be true however at the time it was
Damaging to the Republic party because many people believed that they had been lied to when prohibition was introduced.
After thirteen years it was clear that Prohibition was not working and the Eighteenth Amendment was finally repealed by the Twenty First Amendment. Once Roosevelt had won the election he said “I think it’s time for a drink” and in his “one hundred days” in office he brought an end to Prohibition. However A number of states continued enforcing prohibition for a time, but by 1966 no prohibition laws existed.
