Social Reform: The Role Of Prohibition In The 1920's
The “Roaring Twenties” marked a period of rapid economic growth and drastic cultural reform in the United States. Mass consumerism dictated an American’s everyday life with the emergence of buying goods, such as the Model T and radio, on credit. The once modest maidens now proclaimed their new freedom as "flappers" in bobbed hair and provocative clothing. Jazz became the soundtrack to the young artists and writers of the Lost Generation. One of the oddities of this time of progressive reform, however, was prohibition.
In 1920, the United States passed the 18th Amendment which outlawed the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” (Legal Information Institute Staff). President Herbert Hoover famously called prohibition …show more content…
Supporters of the movement attributed the moral deterioration of Americans and virtually every societal problem to alcohol. The roots of prohibition can be traced back to the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893 which mostly relied on the support of evangelical Protestants in rural parts of the North and South. They often spread propaganda that portrayed saloons as ungodly, corrupt establishments that endorsed gambling and prostitution (History.com Staff). The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union also joined the fight against alcohol by arguing that alcohol was wildly detrimental to marriages and family …show more content…
At the outset, supporters of prohibition expected for other markets, like the entertainment industry, to flourish in the place of alcohol and for neighborhoods to improve without saloons. However, with the closure of breweries, distilleries, and saloons, thousands of Americans lost their jobs. The economy suffered even more with restaurants and theaters failing to make decent profits without legal alcohol sales (Lerner). Additionally, the law itself was flawed as nowhere in the amendment did it ban the consumption of alcohol. While reported alcohol consumption had declined at first, people found more resourceful ways to obtain it. Saloons were replaced by speakeasies, alcohol was smuggled across state lines, and “moonshine” or “bathtub gin” was produced illegally in the homes of countless citizens. In
In 1920, the United States passed the 18th Amendment which outlawed the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” (Legal Information Institute Staff). President Herbert Hoover famously called prohibition …show more content…
Supporters of the movement attributed the moral deterioration of Americans and virtually every societal problem to alcohol. The roots of prohibition can be traced back to the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893 which mostly relied on the support of evangelical Protestants in rural parts of the North and South. They often spread propaganda that portrayed saloons as ungodly, corrupt establishments that endorsed gambling and prostitution (History.com Staff). The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union also joined the fight against alcohol by arguing that alcohol was wildly detrimental to marriages and family …show more content…
At the outset, supporters of prohibition expected for other markets, like the entertainment industry, to flourish in the place of alcohol and for neighborhoods to improve without saloons. However, with the closure of breweries, distilleries, and saloons, thousands of Americans lost their jobs. The economy suffered even more with restaurants and theaters failing to make decent profits without legal alcohol sales (Lerner). Additionally, the law itself was flawed as nowhere in the amendment did it ban the consumption of alcohol. While reported alcohol consumption had declined at first, people found more resourceful ways to obtain it. Saloons were replaced by speakeasies, alcohol was smuggled across state lines, and “moonshine” or “bathtub gin” was produced illegally in the homes of countless citizens. In