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Women's Christian Temperance Union formed
This group of women were concerned about the damages of alcohol to their families. They prayed in churches and marched to saloons to demand that owners shut down their businesses. The union's most famous president was Frances E. Willard. -
Anti-Saloon League created
The Anti-Saloon League was formed in hopes of influencing saloons to shut down their business. They published many newspapers and fliers to promote temperance. The league's main motto was "the saloon must go." -
WCTU and ASL march
The Women's Christian Temperance Union and Anti-Saloon League marched through Washington, D.C. They were pushing for a prohibition amendment to be added to the Constitution, but will not receive this for a few years. -
18th Amendment is proposed
The 18th Amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol in the United States. It passed the House on December 17th, passed the Senate on December 18th, and was then proposed. -
National Prohibition Act passed
The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, is passed. It provided the details of the 18th Amendment and set the active date as January 16, 1920. This also established that alcohol could still be used for medicinal purposes, and ensured that the amount of alcohol in the beverage did not exceed .5%. -
Bootlegging begins
Bootlegging, or the illegal smuggling of alcohol, was becoming more popular in the 1920's. The biggest culprit of this crime was Al Capone. Capone had a large operation in Chicago focused around bootlegging. He made millions of dollars off of this operation, and would be jailed later, but not for his crimes pertaining to alcohol. -
18th Amendment goes into effect
Exactly one year later after the 18th Amendment was ratified, it goes into effect in the United States. It may have been in effect, but it never completely stopped the production and consumption of alcohol. -
Stock Market crash
The highs of stocks from 1920 drop almost 80 percent in the early 1930's. The banks could not get money from the Federal Reserve System, so the stock market crashes. This is an important aspect of prohibition, because they were gaining no taxes on alcohol since it was prohibited. -
The Great Depression begins
Soon after the Stock Market crashes, the Great Depression begins. People have no money and are struggling to live, and begin turning to alcohol more. Pressures are building against the 18th Amendment, pushing for it to be repealed. -
18th Amendment Repealed
The 18th Amendment is repealed with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. Prohibition was producing negative side effects such as the alcohol businesses going under, increased organized crime, and disrespect for the law.
