-
18th Amendment Ratified
On January 17th, 1920, the 18th amendment was passed. This amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors. No one knew how impactful this amendment would be on America's economy. This amendment started the prohibition era. -
Enforcing Prohibition
There were a few rules connected to the 18th amendment. The Volstead Act was set in place to make it clear that any beverage with .5% alcohol in it was considered an alcoholic beverage. Enforcing this act was extremely hard, and because of the demand for alcohol, some authorities would not enforce it. This made America become even more corrupt. -
Start of Prohibition
The era of Prohibition has now begun, but the consumption of alcohol has not. Citizens have begun to illegally import and manufacture alcohol. This caused chaos turmoil within the states. Speakeasies and illegal bars were being opened up due to the demand for alcohol within the citizens. Crime rates were rising at an extremely high rate, which was not good for the government or American people. -
Alcohols Effect on Economy
Alcohol consumption was extremely high during this time period, so prohibiting the manufacture and sale of this was detrimental to the economy. Before prohibition, the average person would drink up to 2.5 gallons annually. This adds up to 13 drinks per week. Because the demand for alcohol was so high, it put a dent in the economy when the 18th amendment passed. Prohibition cost the government over $11 billion in tax revenue. This was a large sum of money during this time period.