Prohibition The Ignoble Experiment Essay - 579 Words

Prohibition: The Ignoble Experiment nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The 18th Amendment , considered to be one of the biggest follies of the nation, was brought about with the intent to sincerely help the U.S., but more harm came from it than good. Prohibition, also known as the 18th Amendment , was ratified on January 29th, 1920 and was repealed on December 5th, 1933 with the ratification of the 21st Amendment which nullified prohibition. The 18th Amendment stated that it was illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcoholic beverages in the United States. quot;The national prohibition of alcohol was undertaken to reduce crime and corruption, solve social problems, reduce the tax burden created by prisons and poorhouses, and improve†¦show more content†¦Well, the drys were wrong because many problems surfaced as a result of prohibition. One problem was the increase of alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption did go down at the beginning of prohibition, but subsequently went back up. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume and crime burgeoned and became  ³organizedquot;. The courts and prison systems became over crowded resulting in a full blown war on alcohol which costed the government millions of dollars. Political officials began to want a piece of the action and became corrupt. The prohibition of alcohol also resulted in the removal of significant tax revenues and the increase of government spending. It also led many drinkers to switch to other drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opium, patent medicines, and other dangerous substances they would have been unlikely to use otherwise.  ³ Speakeasiesquot; or illegal saloons, and  ³bootleggersquot; (dealers of alcohol) surfaced all over the U.S. This created crime and corruption everywhere. This darkside of alcohol gave it a glamourous and forbidden feel to it which tempted non- drinkers to drink so they could  ³experience the forbiddance of alcoholquot;. This drastically increased the alcohol consumption rate higher than it was before prohibition was ratified. quot;Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve