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On January 17, 1920, six armed
men robbed a Chicago freight train.
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But it wasn’t money they were after.
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Less than one hour after spirits had
become illegal
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throughout the United States,
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the robbers made off with thousands
of dollars worth of whiskey.
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It was a first taste of the unintended
consequences of Prohibition.
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The nationwide ban on the production
and sale of alcohol in the United States
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came on the heels of a similar ban
in Russia
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that started as a wartime measure
during World War I.
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But the view in the Western world
of alcohol
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as a primary cause of social
ills was much older.
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It first gained traction during the
Industrial Revolution
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as new populations of workers poured
into cities
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and men gathered in saloons to drink.
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By the 19th century, anti-drinking
groups called temperance movements
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began to appear in the United States
and parts of Europe.
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Temperance groups believed that
alcohol was the fundamental driver
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behind problems like poverty and
domestic violence,
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and set out to convince
governments of this.
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While some simply advocated moderate
drinking,
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many believed alcohol should be
banned entirely.
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These movements drew support from
broad sectors of society.
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Women’s organizations were active
participants from the beginning,
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arguing that alcohol made men neglect
their families and abuse their wives.
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Religious authorities,
especially Protestants,
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denounced alcohol as leading
to temptation and sin.
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Progressive labor activists believed
alcohol consumption
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harmed workers’ ability to organize.
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Governments weren’t strangers to the
idea of prohibition, either.
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In the United States and Canada,
white settlers introduced hard liquors
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like rum to Native communities,
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then blamed alcohol for disrupting
these communities—
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though there were many other destructive
aspects of their interactions.
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The American and Canadian governments
banned the sale of alcohol
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to Native populations
and on reservation land.
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American temperance movements gained
their first victories
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at the state and local levels,
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with Maine and several other states
banning the sale and production of liquor
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in the 1850s.
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In 1919 the Eighteenth Amendment to the
US Constitution
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banned the manufacture, sale, and
transportation of all alcoholic beverages.
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The amendment took effect a year later
under the Volstead Act.
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Since the act did not ban personal
consumption,
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wealthy people took the opportunity
to stock up while restaurants and bars
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rushed to sell their remaining supply.
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Workers lost their jobs as distilleries,
breweries, and wineries closed down.
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Meanwhile, organized crime groups
rushed to meet the demand for alcohol,
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establishing a lucrative black market
in producing, smuggling,
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and selling illicit liquor.
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Often they worked side-by side with
corrupt policemen
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and government officials,
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even bombing the 1928 primary election
for Illinois state attorney
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in support of a particular
political faction.
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Tens of thousands of illegal bars,
known as ‘speakeasies,’
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began serving alcohol.
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They ranged from dingy basement bars
to elaborate dance-halls.
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People could also make alcohol at home
for their own consumption,
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or obtain it legally with a doctor’s
prescription or for religious purposes.
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To prevent industrial alcohol from being
consumed,
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the government required manufacturers
to add harmful chemicals,
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leading to thousands of poisoning deaths.
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We don’t know exactly how much people
were drinking during Prohibition
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because illegal alcohol wasn’t regulated
or taxed.
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But by the late 1920s,
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it was clear that Prohibition had not
brought the social improvements
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it had promised.
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Instead it contributed to political
corruption and organized crime
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and was flouted by millions of citizens.
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At one raid on an Detroit beer hall,
the local sheriff, mayor,
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and a congressman were
arrested for drinking.
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With the start of the Great
Depression in 1929,
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the government sorely needed the tax
revenue from alcohol sales,
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and believed that lifting Prohibition
would stimulate the economy.
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In 1933, Congress passed the 21st
Amendment repealing the 18th–
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the only amendment to be fully repealed.
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Members of the temperance movements
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believed that alcohol was the
root of society’s problems,
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but the reality is more complicated.
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And while banning it completely
didn’t work,
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the health and social impacts of
alcohol remain concerns today.