[custom_adv] In 1920, the 18th Amendment was passed making the manufacture and sale of alcohol illegal. But many people in this time of ‘Prohibition’ continued to drink and gangsters made enormous amounts of money from supplying illegal liquor. [custom_adv] In early 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th. It was ratified by the end of that year, bringing the Prohibition era to a close. [custom_adv] National mood – when America entered the war in 1917 the national mood also turned against drinking alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League argued that drinking alcohol was damaging American society. [custom_adv] Some prohibition leaders looked forward to an educational campaign that would greatly expand once the drink businesses became illegal, and would eventually, in about thirty years, lead to a sober nation. [custom_adv] Other prohibition leaders looked forward to vigorous enforcement of prohibition in order to eliminate supplies of beverage alcohol. [custom_adv] After 1920, neither group of leaders was especially successful. The educators never received the support for the campaign that they dreamed about; and the law enforcers were never able to persuade government officials to mount a wholehearted enforcement campaign against illegal suppliers of beverage alcohol. [custom_adv] One of the few bright spots for which the prohibitionists can present some supporting evidence is the decline in “alcohol-related deaths” during Prohibition. [custom_adv] On closer examination, however, that success is an illusion. Prohibition did not improve health and hygiene in America as anticipated. [custom_adv] Prohibition only drove the alcohol industry underground, and Americans kept right on imbibing during the 13 years that Prohibition was the law of the land.
