Prohibition Flashcards
Who were the supporters of the Volstead Act?
Mainly Protestants who lived in small towns in the South and West.
WOMENS CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION (WCTU) These mainly middle class women believed that alcohol caused all evils such as domestic and child abuse, as well as poverty. They believed that prohibition would end this poverty and sin.
ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE
Many of their members were from the church and temperance societies. They were a pressure group that worked to influence congress.
THE PROHIBITION PARTY
Attracted 250,000 by the 1890s.
What and when was the Volstead Act.
1920- followed the 18th Amendment which banned the sale etc, of intoxicating alcohol. The act declared ‘intoxicating’ as being more than 0.5%.
How did WW1 influence the passing of the Volstead Act?
Many argued that it was a waste of the grain and resources needed to make alcohol that could be redirected for food during the war as well as the labour needed for the production that could be used elsewhere.
Also, many breweries were German and there was obviously a lot of anti-German sentiment after the war and many wanted to support the soldiers overseas.
Why did big businesses e.g. Ford, support the Act?
Drunkenness led to danger and inefficiency in the work place, especially in large factories.
How was rebellion against the act evident?
Speakeasies- there were more than 200,000 by the 1930s. Women enjoyed the new freedom that was offered here.
Crime- there was a rise in crime rates during the period with people such as Al Capone on the rise.
Brothels and gambling thrived.
Doctors prescribed alcohol saying that it cured ailments. When stocks got low, the government produced more.
Bootleggers smuggled alcohol across from Canada etc. to get it into America.
How did agents stop the crime rise? What were the problems?
Some agents such a Moe Smith and Izzy Einstein made 4,000 arrests in 5 years, they seized 5 million bottles of alcohol worth $15 million.
The forces were underfunded and understaffed. A commission was established but they were only given $2 million and 3,000 officers. Many of these offices took bribes and were very corrupt. One federal agent made $7 million seeking illegal alcohol licences and pardons. 10% of all agents took bribes. 400/6,902 cases weren’t even tried.
Give some reasons for and against the idea that prohibition was a failure.
For…
Explosion in crime
1927-1930, there were 227 gangland murders
Prostitution, drugs, gambling, murder.
It was the working class saloons that shut down, not the middle class speakeasies- class discrimination.
Against…
Support constantly remained high, particularly in rural areas.
Consumption fell from 2.6 to 1 gallon a year.
Arrests for drunkenness fell as did deaths from alcohol
Fewer accidents at work.
Why did the prohibition supporters fail?
The forces began to split.
The Anti- Saloon league were divided. Some wanted education programmes and some wanted strict enforcement laws, believing that the league should have power over the appointment of officers.
