Prohibition in the US Constitution - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages The major objective of the government is to create conditions that would help in the advancement of the welfare of its citizens. Therefore, to achieve this, the legislative arm of the government would have to formulate different laws. However, these said government laws, though well-intentioned, might confront stiff opposition in their implementation, thus leading to the repeal of the laws. The Prohibition law in the United States is a classic example of how a well-intentioned law may meet opposition, which may ultimately lead to its repeal. History indicates that alcohol has been a major source of problems in society (Maisto, Galizio, and Connors, 2010, 194). This annotated bibliography examines the effects of prohibition in America.

Prohibition, which is also known as the Noble Experiment, was converted into a law on January 17, 1920 (Smith 1996, 17). However, this was not the first time that alcohol was under prohibition in America. The state of Maine was the first state in America to prohibit alcohol; this was far back in the 1850s (Kyvig, 2000, 7). The law made it illegal to possess, manufacture, distribute, consume, advertise, give, or remove alcohol or alcohol-based recipes from a residence or business premise (Vick and Rhoades, 2009, 128). The main group that facilitated the implementation of the prohibition was the Anti-Saloon League (ASL), a power organization that had the support of a majority of the members of Congress (Peck, 2009, 9). People who formulated the law thought that the law would help in reducing the vices in society, which were associated with alcohol; however, the law elicited widespread debate on the subject. Among the people who were actively involved in the debate were the women who formed two opposing groups. One of the groups, that is, Women Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), advocated for the prohibition. Another group, that is, the Women Organization for National Prohibition Repeal (WONPR), fought against the prohibition (Rose, 1997, 2).

The main reason that led to the formation of organizations that were against the prohibition, was that prohibition had led to a significant increase in crime. In addition, prohibition turned people who were previously law-abiding citizens to become criminals (Behr, 1996, 2). Thus, prohibition threatened to lead to the moral disintegration of American society. Here, the people who were supposed to enforce the law were insinuation several times in corruption scandals (Hayness and Harding, 1923, 274). Apart from the effects the prohibition had on the crime rates, it also negatively affected several sectors of the United States economy, which was the primary source of livelihood for millions of Americans, either directly or indirectly. One of the sectors under great impact was the wine industry (Pinney, 2005, 4). Therefore, for effective and successful implementation the government should have first tried to build a consensus and evaluate the effects of the prohibition instead of forcing it down on people (Stelzle, 1926, 208).

What would America be like in the face of a prohibition of alcohol? Behr’s work offers a comprehensive study of the prohibition of alcohol. It tries to devise reasons and causes that may have brought about certain people to advocate for prohibition quite strongly. Throughout the book, the author uses temperance to explain why certain groups of people, notably, the Anti-Saloon League, successfully used temperance to show why alcohol should be subject to prohibition. In the book, the author tries to analyze the propaganda spread by the Anti-Saloon League to impose fines on certain alcohol manufacturers. The Anti-Saloon League sometimes played the racial cards and tried to capture the American’s hatred towards the Germans to help in the advancement of its goals of imposing prohibition. Here, the author develops the story by showing how “the good creature of God” (referring to alcohol), has been an integral part of America, from the time of the early settlers. Most settlers were heavy drinkers, even clergymen. The wages of labourers and workers came in the form of alcohol, along with days off for getting drunk. The author even states that the founding president of America, George Washington, used to spend huge sums of money on alcohol. By considering these various prominent parties, that were involved and affected, the author can paint a more vivid picture of this era. This led to a thorough understanding of the early twentieth century, as it introduced a country as prosperous as America to prohibition. For, from this time onwards, prohibition became the most important issue, that is, the most important question in American everyday life. And as to why this issue is still a major one today is, according to the author, a matter for endless debate. ...Download file to see next pages Read More