An issue that divided Americans was prohibition. Since the early 1800s, temperance reformers had crusaded against alcohol. By 1917, some 75 percent of Americans lived in “dry” counties that had banned liquor. In 1919, the states ratified the 18th Amendment, which outlawed the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. Support for prohibition was strongest in rural areas, while opposition was strongest in cities.
Government officials found in nearly impossible to enforce prohibition. Congress passed the Volstead Act, which set fines and punishments for disobeying prohibition. Even respectable citizens, however, broke the law. Many people found ways to make alcohol at home using household products. Others bought alcohol at speakeasies, or illegal bars.
Organized criminals called bootleggers sold illegal alcohol to Americans. They made their own alcohol or smuggled it in from Canada or Mexico. Gangsters were able to avoid arrest by bribing local police and politicians. Competition between gangs often led to violent fighting. In Chicago gangster Al “Scarface” Capone gained control of the alcohol trade by murdering his rivals. By 1927 Capone was earning more than $60 million a year from his illegal businesses.
By the end of the 1920s, the nation was tired of the effects of prohibition. The law had reduced alcohol consumption but had not stopped Americans from drinking. Prohibition had also created new ways for criminals to grow rich. Without government supervision of alcohol production, much of the alcohol consumed in speakeasies was more dangerous than what had been produced before prohibition. Many people came to believe that it would be better to have a legal alcohol trade that could be monitored by the government. In 1933 state and federal governments responded with the 21st Amendment, which ended prohibition.
Government officials found in nearly impossible to enforce prohibition. Congress passed the Volstead Act, which set fines and punishments for disobeying prohibition. Even respectable citizens, however, broke the law. Many people found ways to make alcohol at home using household products. Others bought alcohol at speakeasies, or illegal bars.
Organized criminals called bootleggers sold illegal alcohol to Americans. They made their own alcohol or smuggled it in from Canada or Mexico. Gangsters were able to avoid arrest by bribing local police and politicians. Competition between gangs often led to violent fighting. In Chicago gangster Al “Scarface” Capone gained control of the alcohol trade by murdering his rivals. By 1927 Capone was earning more than $60 million a year from his illegal businesses.
By the end of the 1920s, the nation was tired of the effects of prohibition. The law had reduced alcohol consumption but had not stopped Americans from drinking. Prohibition had also created new ways for criminals to grow rich. Without government supervision of alcohol production, much of the alcohol consumed in speakeasies was more dangerous than what had been produced before prohibition. Many people came to believe that it would be better to have a legal alcohol trade that could be monitored by the government. In 1933 state and federal governments responded with the 21st Amendment, which ended prohibition.