Prohibition

Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol

For the judicial writ of prohibition, see Prohibition (writ).

Prohibition was the period between 1919 and 1933 in the United States and between 1919-1932 in Finland (called 'kieltolaki') when the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited. In the USA, this was done by means of the Eighteenth Amendment (ratified January 16, 1919) and the Volstead Act (passed October 28, 1919). Prohibition began on January 16, 1920 when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. The Volstead Act was amended to allow 3.2 percent beer by passage of the Blaine Act on February 17, 1933. The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed later that same year with ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment.

Prohibition also referred to that part of the Temperance movement which wanted alcohol made illegal. Advocates of prohibition were called Prohibitionists. They had some success even before national prohibition; in 1905 three American states had already outlawed alcohol, by 1912 it was up to 9 states, and by 1916, legal prohibition was already in effect in 26 of the 48 states. After the repeal of the national law some states continued to enforce prohibition laws; Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mississippi were still "dry" in 1948. Mississippi, which had made alcohol illegal in 1907, was the last state to repeal prohibition, in 1966. While there are still some dry counties and communities in the United States, in practice this now means little more than that people wishing to buy alcohol must drive some moderate distance to do so.

While national Prohibition did much to reduce the consumption of alcoholic beverages by Americans, they were still widely available at speakeasies and other underground drinking establishments, and many people kept private bars to serve their guests. Large quantities of alcohol were smuggled in from Canada and the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon . Illegal homebrewing was popular during prohibition. "Malt and hop" stores popped up across the country and some former breweries turned to selling malt extract syrup, ostensibly for baking and "beverage" purposes.

Even many prominent citizens and politicians later admitted to having alcohol during Prohibition. This dichotomy between legality and actual practice led to widespread disdain for authorities, who were all assumed to be hypocrites. Mockery took many forms, including the popular Keystone Kops films. There were exceptions to this public scorn such as the activities of Eliot Ness and his elite team of Treasury Agents nicknamed The Untouchables and the New York City prohibition agent team of Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith, known collectively as simply Izzy and Moe. For these exceptions, Ness' honesty and flair for public relations and Izzy and Moe's more eccentric methods with disguises attracted considerable media attention.

Prohibition also presented lucrative opportunities for organized crime to take over the importation ("bootlegging"), manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Al Capone, one of the most famous bootleggers of them all, built his criminal empire largely on profits from illegal alcohol.

With alcohol production largely in the hands of criminals and unregulated clandestine home manufacturers, the quality of the product varied widely. There were many cases of people going blind or suffering from brain damage after drinking "bathtub gin" made with industrial alcohol or various poisonous chemicals. One particular notorious incident involved the patent medicine Jamaica ginger, known by its users as "Jake". It had a very high alcohol content and was known to be consumed by those desiring to circumvent the ban on alcohol. The Treasury Department mandated changes in the formulation to make it undrinkable. Unscrupulous vendors then adulterated their Jake with an industrial plasticizer to attempt to fool government testing. As a result, tens of thousands of victims suffered paralysis of their feet and hands - usually, this paralysis was permanent.

Many social problems have been attributed to the Prohibition era. A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished. Racketeering happened when powerful gangs corrupted law-enforcement agencies. Stronger liquor surged in popularity because its potency made it more profitable to smuggle. The cost of enforcing prohibition was high, and the lack of tax revenues on alcohol affected government coffers. On such points as these, the modern "War on Drugs" has been compared to Prohibition. There is disagreement on the validity of this argument.

"Prohibition enforced," as illustrated by a USPS stamp."

"Prohibition enforced," as illustrated by a USPS stamp."

Prohibition had a notable effect on the brewing industry in the United States. When Prohibition ended, only half the number of breweries reopened as had existed before. Many small breweries were out of business for good. Because mainly the largest breweries had survived, American beer came to be chided as a characterless, mass-produced commodity. Beer connoisseurs lamented the decreased quality and variety. It was only in the 1980's that craft brewing finally recovered. Fritz Maytag has been credited with jumpstarting the microbrew revolution that awoke brewing from its post-Prohibition doldrums.

The term prohibition, in legalese, is also used to refer to other laws banning the sale and consumption of alcohol, in particular, local laws that have the same effect. The 21st amendment, which repealed nationwide prohibition, explicitly gives states the right to restrict or ban the purchase and sale of alcohol; this has led to a patchwork of laws, in which alcohol may be legally sold in some but not all towns or counties within a state.

Grammatically, the prohibition of something infers the widespread banning of its presence or use. This is not always due to laws or other government influence. A children's school, for instance, might prohibit short skirts from being worn; the Catholic church prohibits the use of prophylactics.

See also

• United States Prohibition Party
• Temperance movement
• Near beer
• cocktail
• alcoholic beverages

External Links

• Alcohol prohibition (EH.Net economic history encyclopedia)