Prohibition didn't work

January 16th, 1920 was the date. Alcohol was made illegal and crime skyrocketed. Bars, saloons and some liquor stores were forced to close down their business. Money was too much if not everything at this time, and the demand for alcohol itself made this change non-adaptable by most Americans. It wasn't until 1933 when prohibition was repealed from most states.


Even before full prohibition was passed, about 65 percent of the country had already banned alcohol. In 1916, seven states adopted anti-liquor laws, bringing the number of states to 19 that prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Some even saw prohibition as being patriotic since most alcohol companies and breweries were from Germany, and it was during WWI.


Overall, Prohibition didn't ever seem to work. It was ultimately unenforceable, and by 1925, a dozen states including New York passed laws banning the investigations of these violations. Furthermore, prohibition quickly produced bootleggers, speakeasies, moonshine, 'bathtub gin' and rum runners smuggling supplies of alcohol across state lines. The debate on prohibition still rages even today.

Additional information from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=441