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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 and 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. -
Population Disapproval
As problems arise in other areas, the approval of prohibition was frowned upon by many. There was a direct correlation with prohibition and other problems. A majority of American people started to carry signs saying, "Repeal the 18th Amendment." The American people no longer supported prohibition after seeing the effects it has had. -
Protests
People began to strive for change. They started protests and would march for change. One of the earliest protests was the Anti prohibition Parade in 1921. Thousands of New Yorkers marched up Fifth Avenue on July 4th to protest prohibition. Ultimately, these protests were unsuccessful. -
Period: to
1922 to 1929
Nothing extremely significant happens during this time period. Crime rates are still high and illegal speakeasies are still thriving. The government can't keep up with everything going on and people are working behind their backs. Corruption is running rampant and not much progress has been made through prohibition. -
The Great Depression
In late 1929 the stock market crashed. This is a monumental event in history and is something that sparks the Great depression. This is important with prohibition because repealing prohibition could help America regain some of the money lost. With prohibition, they keep falling deeper into debt and dig themselves a deep hole. -
A Change
In an attempt to help the economy, the 21st amendment was proposed. The 21st amendment was a repeal of the 18th amendment. This would allow the transportation, manufacture, and sale of alcohol to be legal once again. The government under Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed that repealing the 18th would help America immensely during times of desperate need. On February 20th, 1933, Congress proposed the 21st amendment. -
21st Amendment Ratified
Not even a year after the amendment was proposed, it was Ratified. American people were not too fond of the 18th amendment after seeing what it had done to America as a whole. This made passing the 21st amendment much easier than usual. Although passing this amendment did not lift America's depression, it did help out. The 21st amendment opened up jobs, allowed for more tax revenue, and even brought more stability to the American government.