Why was the eighteenth amendment added to the constitution

In urban areas, where the majority of the population opposed Prohibition, enforcement was generally much weaker than in rural areas and smaller towns. Perhaps the most dramatic consequence of Prohibition was the effect it had on organized crime in the United States: as the production and sale of alcohol went further underground, it began to be controlled by the Mafia and other gangs, who transformed themselves into sophisticated criminal enterprises that reaped huge profits from the illicit liquor trade.

When it came to its booming bootleg business, the Mafia became skilled at bribing police and politicians to look the other way. In addition to bootlegging, gambling and prostitution reached new heights during the s as well. A growing number of Americans came to blame Prohibition for this widespread moral decay and disorder—despite the fact that the legislation had intended to do the opposite—and to condemn it as a dangerous infringement on the freedom of the individual.

If public sentiment had turned against Prohibition by the late s, the advent of the Great Depression only hastened its demise, as some argued that the ban on alcohol denied jobs to the unemployed and much-needed revenue to the government.

In , the platform of Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt included a plank for repealing the 18th Amendment, and his victory that November marked a certain end to Prohibition. In February , Congress adopted a resolution proposing the 21st Amendment to the Constitution , which repealed both the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act. The resolution required state conventions, rather than the state legislatures, to approve the amendment, effectively reducing the process to a one-state, one-vote referendum rather than a popular vote contest.

That December, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the necessary majority for repeal. A few states continued statewide prohibition after , but by all of them had abandoned it. Since then, liquor control in the United States has largely been determined at the local level. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Even before the U. Constitution was created, its framers understood that it would have to be amended to confront future challenges and adapt and grow alongside the new nation.

In creating the amendment process for what would become the permanent U. Constitution, the framers The Second Amendment, often referred to as the right to bear arms, is one of 10 amendments that form the Bill of Rights, ratified in by the U.

Differing interpretations of the amendment have fueled a long-running debate over gun control legislation and the This division dramatically weakened the Anti-Saloon League and allowed opponents to Prohibition to build momentum.

Many temperance advocates believed that the struggle was over once Prohibition went into effect, and as a result many of them stopped participating in anti-alcohol organizations. Prominent financial backers withdrew their support as well. Because of this declining support, anti-temperance supporters were able to introduce the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States Constitution in That same year, a sufficient number of states ratified the amendment, ending Prohibition.

Toggle navigation. Jump to: navigation , search. A small group of women gathered outside the doorway of the D. The women were protesting the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Rockefeller Wayne B. Wheeler Hawke v. Cronon, E. The Political Thought of Woodrow Wilson. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, Daugherty, Henry Micajah. The Inside Story of the Harding Tragedy. Hamm, Richard F. Murray, Robert K. The Harding Era: Warren G. Harding and His Administration. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, New York, NY: Norton, Columbus, OH: The F.

Introduction The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors Constitution From the "Statutes at Large," 40 Stat. Constitution From the "Statutes at Large," 48 Stat. Prohibition officers raiding the lunch room of Pa.

April 25, National Photo Company Collection.