Prohibition in the 1920s essays

Prohibition in the 1920's essays Following the year 1919 came a decade of corruption and many changes in the way people lived. For a while in the United States people lived as though their reputation mattered more than anything, and letting go and having fun were not the appropriate things, especially for woman to do. With the many changes came one of great importance that actually made American citizens appear more innocent Prohibition in the 1920s came hard to many Americans, mostly men. The banning of selling, making, and transporting alcohol was enforced through the Volstead Act. Effective on January 16, 1920, at 12:00 pm, the Volstead Act was the start of a new experiment in the United States. The chief prohibition leaders Mr. Volstead, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Wheeler, and Mr. Sheppard all gathered at the First Congregational Church to watch the act become legal. Prohibition and the Volstead Act were induced to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene in America. Although many people thought that Prohibition would help society, it changed it once again for the bad. Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume, crime increased and became "organized", and the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition. During prohibition people made their own bath tub gins producing alcohol that many people died from. Speak easies were many peoples escape from prohibition, where they could drink alcohol in a bar, but illegally. Bootleggers, who made their own alcohol and ran it ...