Presentation Transcript

1. Prohibition 18th Amendment to the Constitution –ratified on January 16th, 1919
2. 18th Amendment Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
3. Reasons in Support of Prohibition Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption Reduce social problems Lower taxes needed to support prisons and poorhouses Improve health and hygiene in America.
4. A Nation of Drunks By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year --three times as much as we drink today
5. Curent Alcohol Abuse Statistics Center for Disease Control 2001 34,833 people died of cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and other diseases linked to the drinking of too much alcohol 40,933 died from car crashes and other mishaps caused by excessive drinking World Health Organization Alcohol kills 2.5 million people word wide every year, 4% of world total, more than AIDs, TB or violence.
6. Temperance Movement Started in the 1830’s and 40’s Religious groups rooted in Protestant churches Supported abolition of slavery Tried to convince people to drink less, but ultimately called for the complete prohibition of drinking
7. Temperance Noun 1.moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control. 2.habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors.
8. Women’s Christian Temperance Union Formed in the 1870’s Also supported women’s right to vote Believed alcohol was the cause of many social problems, including beatings and rape Pushed for laws restricting the use of alcohol Created education programs about the evils of alcohol
9. Carry Nation First husband died from alcoholism Started local chapter of WCTU in Kansas Frequently attacked and destroyed saloons with a hatchet Nation was a large woman, almost 6 feet tall and weighing 175 pounds
10. In Kansas, Carrie Hears God’s Voice The next morning I was awakened by a voice which seemed to me speaking in my heart, these words, "GO TO KIOWA," and my hands were lifted and thrown down and the words, "I'LL STAND BY YOU." The words, "Go to Kiowa," were spoken in a murmuring, musical tone, low and soft, but "I'll stand by you," was very clear, positive and emphatic. I was impressed with a great inspiration, the interpretation was very plain, it was this: "Take something in your hands, and throw at these places in Kiowa and smash them."
11. Women Strongly Supported Prohibition Women were strongly behind the temperance movement, for alcohol was seen as the destroyer of families and marriages. Men would often spend their money on alcohol, leaving women with no money to provide for their children. However, women were unable to gain enough publicity on their own…
12. Anti-Saloon League Founded in 1893 Ran highly successful campaigns to elect politicians who supported banning alcohol They united with Democrats and Republicans, Progressives, Populists, and suffragists, the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP
13. Progressive Movement Progressive Reformers saw Prohibition as part of their broader effort to improve society Felt there should be more government control and involvement in people’s lives
14. Big Business supported Prohibition Business owners felt sober workers would be more productive People like Henry Ford donated large amounts of money to the cause
15. Anti-Immigrant Rural, Protestant Voters disliked the urban, Catholic voters arriving in the country in large numbers and did not like the idea of prohibition Fear of new immigrants hurting and changing the country
16. Anti-German Sentiment WWI created strong anti-German feelings in the country ASL propaganda effectively connected beer and brewers with Germans and treason in the public mind.
17. German Involvement in the Beer Business Many of the large brewery owners were from Germany, including Miller Brewing and Anheuser-Busch
18. Booze: The Enemy
19. Prohibition! All is well in the land… But just a few minutes after the Prohibition Act passed, six masked bandits with pistols emptied two freight cars full of whiskey from a rail yard in Chicago, another gang stole four casks of grain alcohol from a government bonded warehouse, and still another hijacked a truck carrying whiskey.
20. America’s Gangster Between 1925 and 1930. Capone controlled speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year.
21. Al Capone "I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, my customers who number hundreds of the best people in Chicago, are as guilty as I am. The only difference is that I sell and they buy. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman."
22. Home Brewing and Prescriptions Wine could be sold to priests and rabbis Whiskey and moonshine were made in secret; because no standards were enforced, 1000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition from the effects of drinking tainted liquor. Whiskey could be obtained by prescription from doctors and picked up at pharmacies Over a million gallons were consumed per year through freely given prescriptions.
23. Unintended Consequences of Prohibition Alcohol became more dangerous to consume Organized crime blossomed Courts and prisons systems became overloaded Mass corruption of police and public officials occurred.
24. A major reason why Prohibition did not work… In New York, almost 75% of the state's revenue was derived from liquor taxes. With Prohibition in effect, that revenue was immediately lost. At the national level, Prohibition cost the federal government a total of $11 billion in lost tax revenue, while costing over $300 million to enforce. This is how income tax revenue rose so high.
25. In 1933, the legislatures of the states ratified the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed Amendment XVIII and prohibited only the violations of laws that individual states had in regard to "intoxicating liquors".
26. U.S. Drug War Costs Federal and State Law Enforcement costs = $75 billion Collateral damage of the drugs including crime and accidents = $500 billion According to Drugscience.org, law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenders. Mexico = war between the government and the drug cartels cost the lives of 16,000 people in 2011 alone Huge Prison Population = U.S. has the highest prison population in the word and yet it also has the highest drug usage rate in the developed world