Prohibition in The 1920’s

U.S. History

Riturban/Akwaboah

Prohibition was a time in American history in which the transportation, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited. Prohibition in America lasted from

1920 until 1933. This lesson will provide a brief lesson on prohibition and related aspects of the act.

The student must read through the slides that contain the five categories of information on prohibition. The buttons located at the bottom left hand corner of the slides will take

them to their next slide or back to the home dock on the next slide.

The students must complete the question at the end of the lesson on this PowerPoint before completing the lesson.

At the end of the quiz, the student must click on the home button to return the lesson back to the first slide for the next student.

HAVE FUN!

Overview

Click on the topics or pictures below to be taken to the lesson page:

What was Prohibition?

How was prohibition

passed?

Protests to prohibition

Organized crime

in Prohibition

End of prohibition

Click here to take the

quiz

Roaring Twenties Changing ways of Life

During the 1920s, urbanization continued to accelerate For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas New York City was home to over 5 million people in 1920 Chicago had nearly 3 million

What is Prohibition?• The process of prohibiting the manufacturing, importing,

exporting, consuming and sale of alcoholic beverages.

• Sometimes referred to as the “Noble Experiment.”

• Ban on the sale of alcohol between 1920 and 1933.

• Banned sale of liquor with an alcohol content greater than 2.75%.

• Volstead Act set down the rules on enforcing the ban.

What is Prohibition?• Put into effect of January 17th, 1920.

• Enacted to save grain for the war effort.

• Drinking liquor was considered to breed home violence and abuse.

• Known as the “Roaring 20’s” due to protests to prohibition.

How was prohibition passed?• Government got support from the Woman’s

Organization for Prohibition Reform.

• Claimed that consuming liquor resulted in abusive

relationships and broken families.

• Mandated by the 18th amendment to the constitution

How was prohibition passed?• Approved by 36 states on December 18th, 1917.

• Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed the making of wine or cider from

fruit but restricted beer.

• Because liquor was used for medicinal purposes at the time, congress

issued that some liquor was able to be used in some medicinal

circumstances.

Protests to Prohibition• Unpopular during the Great Depression

• Prohibition was highly challenged by the Ku Klux Klan

• To obtain liquor illegally, drinkers went underground to hidden saloons

known as speakeasies

• In New York City alone there was 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasies.

• People also bought liquor from bootleggers who smuggles alcohol from

Canada, Cuba and the West Indies

Protests to prohibition• Organizations and regular entrepreneurs took to making their own

liquor or moonshine.

• A great amount of alcohol was produced in Canada, Mexico and the

Caribbean and shipped into the United States through border cities

like Chicago.

• Organized crime developed as a result of prohibition.

Organized crime in prohibition• Mobsters such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran made a lot of money by selling

illegal liquor to people and speakeasies.

• Al Capone and Bugs Moran were enemies and rivals in the business.

• Al Capone ran 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago alone and controlled the

shipment of liquor from Florida to Chicago.

• The mafia had connections with local distillers and the local politicians and law

enforcement agencies.

Al Capone

Bugs Moran

Organized crime in prohibition• Prohibition provided a financial basis for organized crime to develop which in

turn created the Black Market as we know today.

• Due to illegal and low-key liquor production, the alcohol content of liquor

increased significantly.

• Theft, kidnapping, assault and murder were often linked to organized crime

in dealing with prohibition.

End of prohibition• Ended with a ratification of the 18th amendment by the 21st

amendment

• Roosevelt issued an amendment to the Volstead Act in the Cullen-

Harrison Act which allowed the production and distribution of

beer of 3.2% alcohol content.

• Ratified on December 5th, 1933.

End of prohibition• Inefficient means of enforcement was one of the reasons why prohibition

failed.

• The public viewed the laws as unnecessary and un-American to pass.

• States are still in charge of restricting the sale of liquor in some areas it

feels fit but the banning of alcohol in the entire country will never be

attempted again.

QuizDirections: Answer the question below to the best of your knowledge. Click on the best answer.

Question: What was the name of the establishments that served as underground havens for consuming alcohol?

A. Speakeasies

B. Bootleggers

C. Gin Houses

D. Whiskey Doors

Correct!Speakeasies were the name of the underground establishments

where people could buy and drink liquor. It got its name from the message to “speak easy” so the police couldn't hear them.

You have successfully completed this lesson. Please click on the link below to be taken back to the title

page for the next student.

Sorry that is incorrect.

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Bootleggers were the names of men and women who smuggled liquor illegally into the country and cities.

Sorry that is incorrect.Many people did not drink gin during prohibition due to the cost of

shipment and easy access to other liquor such as whiskey and moonshine.

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Sorry that is incorrect.Although many people did drink whiskey during prohibition, moonshine

and other grain alcohol were much more popular.

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