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?Troy Mine Marisela Valencia Chris Wilson Prohibition Debate: NO Prohibition, refers to a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beveragesis restricted or illegal. First half of the 20th Century was involved with prohibition. Reasons against Prohibition: 1. Smuggling and Bootlegging was widespread, and could not be stopped 2. It was unenforcable. Many states including NY banned police from investigating violations 3. Many more cases of blindness and paralysis occurred, also diabetes. 4.
Quickly produced speakeasies, bootlegging, smuggling, moonshine, and rum runners all across the United States 5. Fostered corruption and contempt of law and law enforcement because police and major politicians were bribed by rum runners, crime bosses or smugglers to keep their mouths shut. 6. Created gangs and made young people commit more organized crimes and disrepect the law 7. According to J. C. Burnham it was an experiment that was put in to practice, but it didn’t work after all. (Page 201) 8. As you can see prohibition was not necessary because before the law was passed not that many people would drink.
Furthermore, after the prohibition law was passed more people started drinking. According to J. C. Burnham he said that the critics claim first that the 18th amendment caused dangerous criminal behavior: and, second, that in spite of prohibition more people drank alcohol than before. 9. Congress passed the 18th amendment with the purposed that it will help stop the selling of alcohol or transportation. 10. The government did do its part to pass the law but the state and local officials were as responsible as the government to enforce the law. 1. Liquor was really difficult to obtain a lot of police enforcement, but even though people will do anything to get alcohol. 12. The people that were in charge of enforcing didn’t do their jobs right to enforce the law, and to make people pay for not obeying the law. J. C. Burnham said that in some areas prosecutors and even judges were so unsympathetic that enforcement was impossible. 13. As you can see some people wanted the government to do something about alcohol to take it away but it made things worse.