Arguments Against Prohibition

Words: 1681
Pages: 7

All men are entitled to their rights and opinions, but what happens when one man's idea or belief conflicts with his neighbor's? This is exactly what has been happening, even since 1820, when religious groups first started war on alcohol and started to play with the idea of prohibition. Then several years latter, in 1846, Maine passed the first state-wide law that supported prohibition. Of course, the people who were impacted by this law were outraged, but it is for the greater good, isn't it? (History.com) Let's start with first talking about what prohibition really is. As it is stated in Article XVIII in the Amendments to the Constitution, “After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.” This is shortened down to simply say it is now illegal to manufacture, sale, or transport any kind of alcohol within the United States and her territories. It then goes on to say that this will only come into …show more content…
Seeing this, there was now a need to create jobs and keep currency flowing to Americans so they could still purchase their basic daily needs to survive. One idea that was being played with was getting rid of prohibition to help open up more jobs, and start that business booming like it used to. Prohibition by the late 20's was already starting to loose merit, but with the depression that hit, it gave an even bigger spark to get rid of the 18th Amendment. Although there was a lot of doubt whether or not an Amendment could even be abolished, in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was running for presidency, one of his campaigning goals was to do just this.