Phaedrus

Joel

History 1920-Present

Dr. Meyers

3/28/07

18th Amendment

America experienced a makeover during the 1920's. This decade in America's history was somewhat of a wild one, it foreshadowed things to come. During this time period, congress passed the 18th amendment, also known as prohibition, it was a strict ban on alcohol brought on by the rise of crime and dismay. The amendment was passed in January 1919, being ratified by 36 states, and alcohol was prohibited.

The 18th amendment did not have a very successful start, it was hard to control. Although prohibition was meant to ban alcohol and crime, it actually made both of them worse. Al Capone was one of the key figures in the promotion of alcohol. Al Capone became a very powerful figure in the mafia, even persuading government officials into helping smuggle in alcohol. The mafia was a very dangerous group that promoted violence and crime. So really the 18th amendment did the opposite of what it was created to do.

The 18th amendment was the only amendment to ever be fully repealed. Prohibition was done away with with the passing of the twenty first amendment, passed in 1933. Many people at this time were suffering because of the great depression, and alcohol was one of the only things people could find to fall back on to get through the hard times.

Although the 18th amendment ultimately failed in what it was suppose to do, it allowed women to voice their opinions and gave them much power in voicing their opinions. This was perhaps the only good thing that came out of the 18th amendment. It failed on every other level. It increased violence and crime, and even prostitution, and alcohol was still being used as it was being smuggled in by those like Al