Example research essay topic: Influence Of Alcohol Pre Prohibition - 1,361 words

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As under a spell, the people had suffered this act to be brought to its fatal conclusion, but with the first touch of cold reality the charm was undone, and the law appeared in its true aspect. Brought about by the Eighteenth Amendment and enforced through the Volstead Act, lasted for over a decade. Despite a growing lack of public support for both Prohibition and restraint itself, the ban on alcohol continued throughout the United States least in the law books. In practice, however, National Prohibition was much less effective than restraint and Prohibition leaders had hoped, in the end causing more problems than it solved. Once passed, Prohibition directly led to the increase in crime and corruption during the twenties, the public health problems associated with bootleg liquor and alcohol substitutes, the irritated tensions between religious, racial, and social groups, and the political disturbance in response to its existence. Yet in the end, it was the discussion of the supreme public hatred of the Amendment, caused by all of these factors combined, which brought about Prohibitions repeal.

Yet Prohibition did enjoy some success. Records reveal that alcohol consumption did initially drop after the onset of National Prohibition and the Volstead Act. However, this decrease on a national level was not all that significant compared to the effect of previous temperance measures in specific communities. Also, after this initial drop alcohol consumption continued to rise steadily throughout Prohibition to the point where it was thought consumption would actually surpass pre-Prohibition levels.

The same was true of alcohol related diseases while initially declining, alcoholism and alcohol-related illness climbed to new heights, all while Prohibition was still in effect (Thornton, Failure 7071). Thus, in the long run, the initial success of Prohibition was soon reversed. Crime, however, was a problem throughout Prohibition. In his book The Economics of Prohibition, Mark Thornton states that any prohibitive measures, whether on alcohol or other goods, inherently create a black market trading in those goods (4). For, since demand does not generally decrease, or at least not significantly, the prohibited good will continue to be traded even though laws exist to prevent such an occurrence.

The presence of this black market, in turn, increases the criminal activity related to the manufacture and sale of that substance (Thornton, Economics 45). In short, prohibition creates new profit opportunities for both criminals and non-criminals, especially for those previously involved in criminal activities (Thornton, Failure 116117). The same was true in the case of National Prohibition in the 1920 s and early 1930 script continued to increase as fewer and fewer people were willing to give up alcohol or to respect Prohibition laws, as shown by the dramatic increase in fines levied for Prohibition violations throughout its existence (Thornton, Economics 100). In response, crime quickly became organized for the first time, running activities contrary to Prohibition on a never before seen scale (Thornton, Failure 70). In fact, by the end of Prohibition, speakeasies had actually outnumbered the saloons of pre-Prohibition years, spreading the influence of alcohol over a much wider range (Thornton, Failure 72).

In addition, the increased price of alcohol, due to the difficulties of manufacturing and selling a prohibited substance illegally, also caused some, especially among the working classes, to steal alcohol itself or to steal other goods which could then be sold to pay for spirits (Thornton, Economics 117). Prohibition was originally meant to curtail the abuses thought to be related to alcohol, one of which was crime (Thornton, Economics 111). However, as more and more people began to disrespect Prohibition, new types of criminal activity associated with alcohol were created. In response, the effort needed to enforce the Act continued to rise throughout the twenties and early thirties (Thornton, Economics 100); prisons filled to capacity and beyond (Thornton, Failure 73) while money spent on enforcement more than doubled (Thornton, Economics 100).

In this sense, it is not surprising then that crime dropped dramatically almost immediately after the repeal of prohibition (Thornton, Failure 73). While meant to limit the corruption related to the influence of alcohol industries in government (Thornton, Economics 111), Prohibition also increased the number of corrupted government officials and corruptions spread (Thornton, Economics 5). The rise of criminal activity in the form of organized crime, speakeasies, and bootlegging created yet another need to bribe government officials, as the black market still remained active and profitable (Thornton, Economics 112). In order to maintain those profits, however, leaders of the illegal alcohol trade needed to keep costs lothar is, to avoid criminal penalties. Thus, bribes became common.

The majority of New York City police officers, for instance, were personally accepting bribes, bootlegging, drinking, or gambling themselves, some doing all four (Thornton, Economics 133). The Anti-Saloon League itself, admitting that they had spent over fifty million dollars on their Prohibition efforts, had even been accused of using money to keep government officials in support of Prohibition (Sinclair 390). And yet eliminating or at least controlling crime and corruption proved virtually impossible for Prohibition leaders. No one had any sort of clear plan for prohibiting the flow of alcohol into the United States, which would require establishing both a naval blockade of the coasts and a strict patrol of the Canadian and Mexican borders, nor did many want to pay the high costs of maintaining an effective police force to stop the internal production of alcohol both measures would be needed to eliminate the trade of alcohol, stopping the inward flow from other countries and the internal production of spirits. In addition, the Prohibition Bureau, initially controlled through the Treasury Department, lacked the budget necessary for proper enforcement (Clark). In all, the massive effort which would have been required to forcefully maintain Prohibition was simply not practical.

In addition to the crime and corruption caused by Prohibition, the United States also experienced serious health problems in relation to bootleg liquor and alcohol substitutes. Because a substance which is considered illegal cannot even exist in the eyes of government, lest the government be admitting that the prohibition of that substance is a failure, a prohibited substance is no longer subject to government regulations (Thornton, Failure 71). In the case of alcohol during Prohibition, those regulations which had been placed on the manufacture and sale of alcohol in the pre-Prohibition era regulations which had been accepted by the majority of people longer affected the production of alcohol in the United States. And since few were willing to accept the prohibition of alcohol entirely, manufacturers of illegal alcohol were free to produce even the most harmful of substances. Thus, bootleg liquor became more potent and more dangerous Jackass Brandy caused internal bleeding and Panther Whiskey had a fuel oil base (Cooper). Prohibition also made transporting lighter, less potent forms of alcohol more dangerous and difficult (Thornton, Failure 71).

Beer, for instance, which had not been widely abused in pre-Prohibition years, was much too bulky than the more potent, more compact spirits available. Thus, while beer consumption decreased throughout Prohibition, consumption of harder liquor continually increased, it being the less expensive form of alcohol (Thornton, Economics 104). And as shipping alcohol became more difficult and prices rose, some turned to other substances, such as marijuana and heroine, as a substitute for alcohol (Monahan 10). It is not surprising then that drug and alcohol related illnesses and deaths rose on the whole during Prohibition (Thornton, Failure 71). Prohibition also aggravated certain preexisting tensions among various social and cultural groups.

For example, when blacks in Tennessee voted against Prohibition, white temperance leaders saw them as an obstacle and decided to favor their disenfranchisement. Playing up the danger of Negro violence, these white wets sought to put down black political forces in order to secure passage of their Amendment. Yet there was also an equal number of anti-black wets at the time. And while Prohibitionists claimed the law was never designed to oppress blacks but rather to aid the lower class situation by removing the corrupting forces of alcohol, Prohibition did contribute to these racial tensions in the end (Isaac 266). While religious bigotry and immigrant hatred also resurfaced, particularly against the Irish Catholics (Monahan 10)...

Research essay sample on Influence Of Alcohol Pre Prohibition