The Great Experiment

The date was January 16, 1919, and the Eighteenth Amendment had just become a reality.

Prohibition -- the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution -- legally banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors. Often referred to as "The Great Experiment," it had its roots in the previous century, championed by the Anti-Saloon League (an Ohio organization founded in 1893). The League had their work cut out for them: in 1909, there was one saloon for every three hundred Americans. There were more saloons than schools, libraries, hospitals, theaters, parks, or churches. (Location was a factor, however; the city of Chicago had more saloons than the entirety of the South.) Interestingly enough, the Anti-Saloon League consisted of members who, generally speaking, favored progressive politics such as votes for women, an end to monopolies, better working conditions, and immigration aid.

Before Prohibition, there was the Webb-Kenyon Act, which was passed in February 1913. Overriding a veto from President Taft, the law regulated the transportation of liquor from "wet states" to "dry states" (that is, no transporting liquor from the states that sold it to the states that did not). Four years later, Congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; by January 1919, forty-six of the forty-eight states had ratified the amendment (Rhode Island and Connecticut being the two hold-outs). Despite ratification, however, many states failed to actually adopt state Prohibition, including Pennsylvania (as well as California, Illinois, New York, and others).

From the beginning, Prohibition had its work cut out. Many large cities outright rejected state or municipal liquor bans. The states where Prohibition proved unpopular often decided that the federal law was a federal matter, and so left the law's enforcement to the federal government. And while Prohibition did not prove costly (about a quarter of what states were spending on their parks department), it had the side effect of cutting funding in its own way -- in 1914, before the Amendment had been passed, one-third of the federal government's revenue came from liquor licenses and taxes on domestic liquor sales.

Then, too, were other (unexpected) side effects. Bootlegging, the illegal manufacturing and selling of liquor, became a booming business. As it was also an illegal business, it was organized crime who benefited from bootlegging the most; it's estimated that Chicago's Al Capone earned $60 million a year alone, thanks to the bootlegging operations and speakeasies he controlled. Those living in large cities were generally the most vehement protestors of Prohibition, and law enforcement and politicians alike were bribed there to look the other way. Once the Great Depression took hold, the popularity of Prohibition slipped even further. When Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for presidential office in 1932, his campaign included the repealing of the 18th Amendment. (Roosevelt won the election).

Ultimately, Prohibition was reversed with the 21st Amendment, proposed and enacted in 1933. The Great Experiment was at an end.

More on the History of Prohibition:

-- The 18th and 21st Amendments - Complete with scans of the original amendment, newspaper articles, and more.

-- Prohibition: Facts and Summary - From the History Channel.


From the Catalog:

-- Last Call: The Rise And Fall of Prohibition by Daniel Okrent.

-- The Prohibition Hangover: Alcohol in America from Demon Rum to Cult Cabernet by Garrett Peck.

-- Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition by Karen Blumenthal. For YA readers.

-- Prohibition: A Ken Burns Documentary [DVD]


Other Reads (from the Catalog):

-- Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol by Iain Gately.

-- Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol by Ann Dowsett Johnston.

-- Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp



-- Post by Ms. B