How far was Prohibition a failure? Flashcards
1
Q
(One way in which Prohibition failed) was that people continued to smuggle alcohol across US borders
A
- USA had 18,7000 miles of coastline and border.
- Smuggling was so successful that only 5% of illegal alcohol being smuggles was intercepted
- In 1924, prohibition enforcers seized $40 mil worth of alcohol, but the actual estimated volume of alcohol being smuggled was $800 mil
2
Q
Treasury Agents did not enforce the law, allowing people to obtain alcohol
A
- One Fed agent was said to have made $7 million selling illegal licences and pardons to bootleggers (due to their low wages)
- Between 1920 and 1930, about 10% of Prohibition agents were fined for corruption
3
Q
Government did not enforce the law, allowing people to obtain alcohol
A
- No one in gov. seemed to be prepared to say openly that prohibition should be enforced because many Americans liked to drink
- Congress did not enforce prohibition because they did not want to alienate the rich and influential voters who enjoyed a drink
4
Q
Public could obtain alcohol through speakeasies or ‘bootleggers’
A
- For many Americans, particularly those living in the cities, their main aim in life became having a good time.
- Illegal drinking, gangster run ‘speakeasies’ became popular with many fashionable city dwellers
5
Q
Led to an explosion in organised crime
A
- Capone built up an army of 700 gangsters who committed over 300 murders in Chicago.
- On Feb 14 1925, five of Capone’s men dressed as policemen shot over 100 bullets into the rival men of Bugs Moran’s gang - St Valentines Day Massacre
6
Q
One way in which prohibition was a success was that alcohol consumption decreased
A
- Alcohol consumption fell from an average of 2.6 gallons per person per year in the years before 1917 to one gallon by the 1930s
- Arrests for drunkenness fell, as did deaths from alcoholism
- Fewer drunk drivers, meaning safer roads, alongside fewer accidents in the workplace
