By: Steven Beda
Essential Question-Would you consider the government's passage of the 18th Amendment an over-reaction to the problem of Alcohol? How do the actions of gangsters/bootleggers support the position that the government and temperance leaders had gone to far?---The passage of the 18th Amendment was an unjustified over-reaction. The main reason why they had decided to ban alcohol was because beer was primarily created by Germans. The US did not like the Germans after the war and saw beer as not patriotic. The rise of organized crime is a result of Prohibition. Gangsters and Bootleggers were able to make a living off of breaking the law. Selling illegal alcohol was a growing business during the twenties, and those that were able to get in on it reaped the benefits.
-The 18th Amendment was not very effective. Most of the population ignored it. the rise of the gangster/bootlegger proved that practically no one followed the law. When the police were seizing the liquor, and were dumping it down the drains in the streets, people were filling up buckets of the alcohol flowing in the streets.
-The government did not handle the Volstead act well. in the beginning on the day it was passed many police raids ended with the loss of rioters lives at the hands of the police. To stop the violence, police actions were held back. this allowed for the rise of the bootlegger. This made it easier for national bootleggers to get away with bootlegging. The government eventually turned a blind eye and were accepting bribes to ignore the bootlegging.
-The twenties deserved the reputation of crime. Bootlegger was a national business. Al Capone, one of the most famous gangsters of all time, had a network of over 1,000 men, and was still able to remain free because he was able to bribe government officials. The outlawing of alcohol was a risky, and quite frankly, a dumb idea. the government should have expected organized crime as a retaliation. The outlawing of alcohol was not needed during that time, and the main reason why they banned liquor was because the temperance movement thought it was not patriotic.
-------------------------------------------Thinking like a Historian-----------------------------------------------------
--Using the Past-- Prohibition can be linked to the drug trade today. Similar to prohibition's bootlegging, the illegal drug trade is a booming business. Looking at prohibition, its easy to say that it was an over reaction and that making alcohol illegal was not necessary. The drug trade today, however, is more expansive, profitable, and dangerous. Prohibition also got rid of something that many argued did not need to be outlawed. Today, the drugs that have been made illegal most certainly should be illegal. Both share one thing in common, they both promoted the growth of organized crime; gangsters came out of prohibition, and drug lords out of today's illegal drug trade.
-------------------------------------------Thinking like a Historian-----------------------------------------------------
--Using the Past-- Prohibition can be linked to the drug trade today. Similar to prohibition's bootlegging, the illegal drug trade is a booming business. Looking at prohibition, its easy to say that it was an over reaction and that making alcohol illegal was not necessary. The drug trade today, however, is more expansive, profitable, and dangerous. Prohibition also got rid of something that many argued did not need to be outlawed. Today, the drugs that have been made illegal most certainly should be illegal. Both share one thing in common, they both promoted the growth of organized crime; gangsters came out of prohibition, and drug lords out of today's illegal drug trade.