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Alcoholism In The 19th Century

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Alcoholism In The 19th Century
What was the problem or issue?
The issue was alcoholism and the lack of moral causing the citizens to engage in prostitution, crime, and poverty. In the first half of the 19th century, the Americans experienced a moral crusade that created a disturbance caused by the violation of the social norms that characterized the society in the early periods making them ignore the current social and economic inequality (Jansson, 2014, p. 105). This moral crusade and lost of values surged from the rapid growth of cities caused by the migration from the villages to the urban areas, the growing of the Irish and German immigrant communities, and the religious movement focused on converting Catholics American to evangelical Protestants who did not drink. …show more content…
The temperance movement had limited success. Temperance restricted licenses for taverns, increased the alcohol tax, and restrict the sales of alcohol. In some areas, the court imposed fines and prison time to the alcohol sellers and consumers; alcohol was an illegal substance. Temperance designed a campaign to create awareness of alcohol use by distributing pamphlets warning the population of the dangers of alcohol. In addition, these pamphlets linked alcohol intake to an immoral living that leads people to hell and poverty.
The temperance movement measures did not eradicate the problem for which reformers circulated petitions collecting signatures to support the prohibition of alcohol sale in taverns to then present it to local and state politicians. The prohibition of alcohol sale was enacted in 13 states making possible to confiscate alcoholic beverages (Jansson, 2014, p. 108). The production and sale of alcohol were prohibited only from the 1850s to the 1870s due to it was found unconstitutional for the government to interfere with the making and selling of liquor. However, the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol in 1919, which was repealed in 1933 during Roosevelt’s administration (Jansson, 2014, p.
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