Alcohol during and after prohibition
Encyclopedia
There was consumption of alcohol both during and after prohibition
.
The 18th Amendment
prohibited the production, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverage
s in the United States and was widely supported by the American public when it went into effect in 1920.
The temperance movement
had popularized the belief that alcohol was the major cause of most personal and social problems and prohibition
was seen as the solution to the nation's poverty, crime, violence, and other ills.
Upon ratification of the amendment, the famous evangelist Billy Sunday
said that "The slums will soon be only a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs." (Compare Christianity and alcohol.) Since alcohol was to be banned and since it was seen as the cause of most, if not all, crime, some communities sold their jails.
The nation was highly optimistic and the leading prohibitionist in the United States Congress
confidently asserted that "There is as much chance of repeal
ing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a hummingbird
to fly to the planet Mars
with the Washington Monument
tied to its tail.”
deaths as a proxy for alcohol consumption estimated a decrease in consumption of 10-20%. One study reviewing city-level drunkenness arrests came to a similar result. And, yet another study examining "mortality, mental health and crime statistics" found that alcohol consumption fell, at first, to approximately 30 percent of its pre-Prohibition level; but, over the next several years, increased to about 60-70 percent of its pre-prohibition level.
Within a week after Prohibition went into effect, small portable stills were on sale throughout the country. California's grape growers increased their area about 700 % during the first five years of the prohibition. Grapes were commonly compressed into dry blocks and sold as "bricks or blocks of Rhine Wine," "blocks of port," and so on. The mayor of New York City even sent instructions on winemaking to his constituents.
Organized smuggling
of alcohol from Canada
and elsewhere quickly developed. "Rum row
s" existed off the coasts of large cities where ships lined up just beyond the three mile (5 km) limit to off-load their cargoes onto speed boats. Murder and hijacking were common in this dangerous but lucrative business.
There was also the notorious and ever-present organized bootlegging
. The country's scourge led to massive and widespread corruption of politicians and law enforcement agencies and helped finance powerful crime organizations. In addition to the murders of law enforcement officers there was an ever more common cause of death and disability caused by the bootleggers' illegal products. Many stills used lead
coils or lead soldering, which gave off acetate of lead, a dangerous poison. Some bootleggers used recipes that included iodine, creosote
, or even embalming fluid.
The widespread corruption of public officials became a national scandal. In addition, it became very difficult to convict those who violated prohibition because public support for the law and its enforcement eroded dramatically. For example, of prohibition-related 7,000 arrests in New York between 1921 and 1923, only 27 resulted in convictions.
Prohibition proved to be counterproductive in that it promoted the heavy and rapid consumption of alcohol in secretive, nonsocially regulated and controlled ways. "People did not take the trouble to go to a speakeasy
, present the password, and pay high prices for very poor quality alcohol simply to have a beer. When people went to speakeasies, they went to get drunk.
As the problems caused by prohibition increased and spread to small towns throughout the country, there developed a movement to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. Women had been at the forefront of the temperance movement in an effort to protect their families. With the spreading violence, emerging patterns of binge drinking, disrespect for the law, and other serious problems, women led the repeal movement to protect their families.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
, a lifelong abstainer who had contributed $350,000 to the Anti-Saloon League
, announced his support for repeal because of the widespread problems caused by prohibition. Many others who had supported prohibition now called for its repeal.
and Democratic
party platforms included planks for the repeal of prohibition
. The popular vote for repeal was 74 % in favor and 26 % in opposition. So by a three to one vote, the American people rejected prohibition; only two states opposed repeal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
would soon look back to what he called "The damnable affliction of Prohibition." But not all were happy. The Anti-Saloon League declared "War ... NO PEACE PACT-NO ARMISTICE
" and warned that temperance forces would soon be ready to launch the "offensive against the liquor traffic."
While the president and most of the country considered prohibition a failure, clearly many temperance activists did not. Prohibition had been a major legacy of World War I
and, with war in Europe, temperance leaders again hoped to take advantage of the national emergency that would occur if the United States were drawn into that conflagration. One asserted that "the full force of dry pressure would once again be brought to bear on Congress" if we entered the war in order "to get as much prohibition as .. . Possible." Stressing that World War I had been the impetus for prohibition, a pro-temperance journal predicted promising times ahead.
After the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor
in 1941, temperance leaders tried to have all alcohol prohibited on all military bases. One dry (prohibition)leader said, "I would rather have a sober son in a concentration camp in Germany
than in a service camp in America if that son should become the victim of the drink habit." However, the Secretary of War insisted that "temperance cannot be attained by prohibition," and supported the sale of alcoholic beverages on military bases. He believed that this policy had "caused a degree of temperance among Army personnel which is not approachable in civil communities now" by encouraging soldiers "to remain on the reservation (their home) and enjoy refreshment under conditions conducive of temperance." Similarly, Army Major Merrill Moore
called for policies to encourage moderation among soldiers who chose to drink and asserted: "Not alcohol, but the intemperate use of alcohol, is the problem in the Army as well as in civilian life." The Office of War Information argued that bootleggers could not be regulated whereas legal dispensers could.
Furthermore, the availability of beverage alcohol was seen by military authorities as good for morale
and the war effort. Brewers were required to allocate 15 % of total annual production of beer for use by the armed forces; local draft boards were authorized to grant deferments to brewery workers who were highly skilled and irreplaceable; the Teamsters
labor union was ordered to end a strike against Minneapolis breweries because beer manufacturing was considered an industry essential to the war effort; and near the end of the war, the army made plans to operate recaptured French breweries to ensure adequate supplies for the troops.
Dry leaders insisted that Congress prohibit the production of alcohol beverages for at least the length of the war, arguing that intoxication caused the disaster at Pearl Harbor, wasted precious raw materials, reduced efficiency through excessive absenteeism, and would lead to loose lips among those with military secrets.
Shortly after World War II
, a national opinion survey found that "About one-third of the people of the United States favor national prohibition." Upon repeal of national prohibition, 18 states continued prohibition at the state level. The last state finally dropped it in 1966. Almost two-thirds of all states adopted some form of local option
which enabled residents in political subdivisions to vote for or against local prohibition. Therefore, despite the repeal of prohibition at the national level, 38 % of the nation's population lived in areas with state or local prohibition.
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
.
The 18th Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
prohibited the production, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s in the United States and was widely supported by the American public when it went into effect in 1920.
The temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
had popularized the belief that alcohol was the major cause of most personal and social problems and prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
was seen as the solution to the nation's poverty, crime, violence, and other ills.
Upon ratification of the amendment, the famous evangelist Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday
William Ashley "Billy" Sunday was an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseball's National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century.Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some...
said that "The slums will soon be only a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs." (Compare Christianity and alcohol.) Since alcohol was to be banned and since it was seen as the cause of most, if not all, crime, some communities sold their jails.
The nation was highly optimistic and the leading prohibitionist in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
confidently asserted that "There is as much chance of repeal
Repeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
ing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
to fly to the planet Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
with the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
tied to its tail.”
Prohibition
After prohibition was implemented alcohol continued to be consumed. However, how much compared to pre-Prohibition levels remains unclear. Studies examining the rates of cirrhosisCirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
deaths as a proxy for alcohol consumption estimated a decrease in consumption of 10-20%. One study reviewing city-level drunkenness arrests came to a similar result. And, yet another study examining "mortality, mental health and crime statistics" found that alcohol consumption fell, at first, to approximately 30 percent of its pre-Prohibition level; but, over the next several years, increased to about 60-70 percent of its pre-prohibition level.
Within a week after Prohibition went into effect, small portable stills were on sale throughout the country. California's grape growers increased their area about 700 % during the first five years of the prohibition. Grapes were commonly compressed into dry blocks and sold as "bricks or blocks of Rhine Wine," "blocks of port," and so on. The mayor of New York City even sent instructions on winemaking to his constituents.
Organized smuggling
Smuggling
Smuggling is the clandestine transportation of goods or persons, such as out of a building, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.There are various motivations to smuggle...
of alcohol from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and elsewhere quickly developed. "Rum row
Rum row
A rum row was a Prohibition-era term referring to a line of ships loaded with liquor anchored beyond the maritime limit of the United States. These lines became established near major U.S...
s" existed off the coasts of large cities where ships lined up just beyond the three mile (5 km) limit to off-load their cargoes onto speed boats. Murder and hijacking were common in this dangerous but lucrative business.
There was also the notorious and ever-present organized bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
. The country's scourge led to massive and widespread corruption of politicians and law enforcement agencies and helped finance powerful crime organizations. In addition to the murders of law enforcement officers there was an ever more common cause of death and disability caused by the bootleggers' illegal products. Many stills used lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
coils or lead soldering, which gave off acetate of lead, a dangerous poison. Some bootleggers used recipes that included iodine, creosote
Creosote
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...
, or even embalming fluid.
The widespread corruption of public officials became a national scandal. In addition, it became very difficult to convict those who violated prohibition because public support for the law and its enforcement eroded dramatically. For example, of prohibition-related 7,000 arrests in New York between 1921 and 1923, only 27 resulted in convictions.
Prohibition proved to be counterproductive in that it promoted the heavy and rapid consumption of alcohol in secretive, nonsocially regulated and controlled ways. "People did not take the trouble to go to a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, present the password, and pay high prices for very poor quality alcohol simply to have a beer. When people went to speakeasies, they went to get drunk.
As the problems caused by prohibition increased and spread to small towns throughout the country, there developed a movement to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. Women had been at the forefront of the temperance movement in an effort to protect their families. With the spreading violence, emerging patterns of binge drinking, disrespect for the law, and other serious problems, women led the repeal movement to protect their families.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. was a major philanthropist and a pivotal member of the prominent Rockefeller family. He was the sole son among the five children of businessman and Standard Oil industrialist John D. Rockefeller and the father of the five famous Rockefeller brothers...
, a lifelong abstainer who had contributed $350,000 to the Anti-Saloon League
Anti-Saloon League
The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Era, and was strongest in the South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their...
, announced his support for repeal because of the widespread problems caused by prohibition. Many others who had supported prohibition now called for its repeal.
Repeal
Both the RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
and Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
party platforms included planks for the repeal of prohibition
Repeal of Prohibition
The Repeal of Prohibition in the United States was accomplished with the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.-Background:...
. The popular vote for repeal was 74 % in favor and 26 % in opposition. So by a three to one vote, the American people rejected prohibition; only two states opposed repeal.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
would soon look back to what he called "The damnable affliction of Prohibition." But not all were happy. The Anti-Saloon League declared "War ... NO PEACE PACT-NO ARMISTICE
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
" and warned that temperance forces would soon be ready to launch the "offensive against the liquor traffic."
While the president and most of the country considered prohibition a failure, clearly many temperance activists did not. Prohibition had been a major legacy of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and, with war in Europe, temperance leaders again hoped to take advantage of the national emergency that would occur if the United States were drawn into that conflagration. One asserted that "the full force of dry pressure would once again be brought to bear on Congress" if we entered the war in order "to get as much prohibition as .. . Possible." Stressing that World War I had been the impetus for prohibition, a pro-temperance journal predicted promising times ahead.
After the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in 1941, temperance leaders tried to have all alcohol prohibited on all military bases. One dry (prohibition)leader said, "I would rather have a sober son in a concentration camp in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
than in a service camp in America if that son should become the victim of the drink habit." However, the Secretary of War insisted that "temperance cannot be attained by prohibition," and supported the sale of alcoholic beverages on military bases. He believed that this policy had "caused a degree of temperance among Army personnel which is not approachable in civil communities now" by encouraging soldiers "to remain on the reservation (their home) and enjoy refreshment under conditions conducive of temperance." Similarly, Army Major Merrill Moore
Merrill Moore
-Biography:Moore attended Nashville's Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of the Fugitives, a group of then unknown poets who met to read and criticize each other's poems...
called for policies to encourage moderation among soldiers who chose to drink and asserted: "Not alcohol, but the intemperate use of alcohol, is the problem in the Army as well as in civilian life." The Office of War Information argued that bootleggers could not be regulated whereas legal dispensers could.
Furthermore, the availability of beverage alcohol was seen by military authorities as good for morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
and the war effort. Brewers were required to allocate 15 % of total annual production of beer for use by the armed forces; local draft boards were authorized to grant deferments to brewery workers who were highly skilled and irreplaceable; the Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
labor union was ordered to end a strike against Minneapolis breweries because beer manufacturing was considered an industry essential to the war effort; and near the end of the war, the army made plans to operate recaptured French breweries to ensure adequate supplies for the troops.
Dry leaders insisted that Congress prohibit the production of alcohol beverages for at least the length of the war, arguing that intoxication caused the disaster at Pearl Harbor, wasted precious raw materials, reduced efficiency through excessive absenteeism, and would lead to loose lips among those with military secrets.
Shortly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a national opinion survey found that "About one-third of the people of the United States favor national prohibition." Upon repeal of national prohibition, 18 states continued prohibition at the state level. The last state finally dropped it in 1966. Almost two-thirds of all states adopted some form of local option
Local Option
Local Option is a term used to describe the freedom whereby local political jurisdictions, typically counties or municipalities, can decide by popular vote certain controversial issues within their borders. In practice, it usually relates to the issue of alcoholic beverage sales...
which enabled residents in political subdivisions to vote for or against local prohibition. Therefore, despite the repeal of prohibition at the national level, 38 % of the nation's population lived in areas with state or local prohibition.