Christianity helped introduce Prohibition in the USA. For many years before 1919, religious groups had argued that drinking alcohol was wrong. They even set up an anti-saloon league, which tried to ban alcoholic drinks everywhere in America. Christians were one of the main reasons for prohibition being introduced in America in1919.
Another reason that Prohibition started was politicians wanting the vote. As many people were in favour of Prohibition, a good way for politicians to win votes was to promise Prohibition in their area if they were elected. This was clever campaigning by the politician and very soon, politicians would promise Prohibition even if they were against it themselves.
The health problems relating to alcohol also helped Prohibition come into force. Many people believed that alcohol was a cause for many health problems. This has now been proved true. One example of how drinking alcohol affects your health is that it damages your liver, which can lead to people needing liver transplants or dying. Moral health was also called into question. People thought that you could not control your behaviour when you were drunk. This is also partially true if you drink alcohol in large amounts.
Many people blamed alcohol for the problems facing America. Examples of these problems were poverty and crime. This meant that people thought the banning of alcohol would benefit America and the American people. This made the population eager for Prohibition.
The final reason for the nationwide introduction of Prohibition was that it already existed in a number of states. This made it a lot easier to ban alcohol across the country as some people were already used to not drinking anyway.
These were the main reasons that Prohibition was introduced in the USA in 1919. There was not a major event or action that caused Prohibition but a series of events and feelings. The main reason, in my opinion, was the Christian fundamentalists who wanted alcohol banned. This is because if they did not set up the Anti-saloon league, no one would have been interested in the problems of the alcohol. Politicians would not have promised to ban alcohol if they were not trying desperately to get the Christian vote.
Daniel Cooper 11T
