The Prohibition

The passing of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of "intoxicating liquors," ushering in a period of American History known as the Prohibition. The amendment was the result of a widespread temperance movement dating back to the early 19th century, during which a wave of religious revivalism swept the country. Multiple states had banned the sale of liquor by the start of the Civil War, setting the precedent for later legislation. By the 20th century, the temperance movement had become a significant political movement in American society, strengthened by the role women played in opposing alcohol and tobacco. These were seen as  destructive forces in families and marriages, and women were often the hardest hit when their husbands became drunks and addicts. In 1906 the attack against liquor was revitalized, driven by a reaction to urban growth, as well as the rise of evangelical Protestantism that opposed the new way of life in the cities. In addition, many employers supported prohibition because they believed that alcohol was making their workers less productive.

In 1917, after the U.S. joined World War I, president Woodrow Wilson passed a temporary prohibition in order to save grain for wartime food production. Later that same year, Congress submitted the 18th Amendment, which would ban the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol nationwide. In just eleven months, the amendment received the necessary support for its passage and was ratified on January 29, 1919. A year later, the amendment went into full effect.

Over the course of the 1920s, both local and federal authorities struggled to enforce the Prohibition. In general, enforcement was much stronger in areas that generally supported the amendment, meaning that the Prohibition was enforced much more strongly in rural areas and small towns than in urban centers. Although there was some initial success, including a decline in arrests for drunkenness and a 30% decrease in alcohol consumption, people eventually found more clever ways to obtain liquor. "Bootlegging," the illegal manufacture and sale of liquor, went on throughout the decade, along with the operation of "speakeasies," which were stores and nightclubs that sold alcohol.

Contrary to its original purpose, the Prohibition ended up encouraging the rise of criminal activity associated with bootlegging. Gangs such as the one run by Al Capone made millions off of bootleg operations and speakeasies, fueling a corresponding rise of gang violence. The most infamous of these events was the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, in which several men dressed up as policemen shot and killed various men affiliated with a rival gang.

The higher price of bootleg liquor meant that the working and middle classes were affected by the Prohibition the most. This, coupled with much higher rates of incarceration due to the illegal sale of purchase of alcohol, led to the waning of support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s. When Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised to appeal the Prohibition if elected, easily won victory over the incumbent President Herbert Hoover in 1932, he proposed the passing of the 21st Amendment, which would essentially repeal the 18th. The new amendment was finally passed in December 1933, and the decade of Prohibition had finally come to a close.

Source:
http://www.history.com/topics/prohibition