Prohibition was an era of the United States that typically stands out in today’s history books and captures the attention of most readers. Many people know that the prohibition ended in failure and embarrassment for the American government who tried, without avail, to enforce it. The author of the scholarly article “The US prohibition experiment: myths, history and implications,” argues that prohibition of any kind is impossible. Yet, at the same time stating that prohibition could be successful if administered properly. For this reason, the author seems to contradict himself continuously throughout the entirety of the article; stating the reasons for the prohibition’s failures were unavoidable, but also expressing ways that it could have been avoided.…show more content… He exhibits many insightful views and is thorough in his arguments. Tyrrell discusses why the prohibition failed and how failure could have been avoided. Tyrrell uses twenty-six different references throughout his article. His references include books, scholarly articles, and educational journals. These help to elaborate on the points of his argument. The one thing that can help to predict the future is the past. History shows us that prohibition of any kind, as stated by the author, is a dream, dreamt up by fanatics who could not come to an agreement with those who were opponents of the prohibition (Tyrrell, 1405). Tyrrell’s reference to Andrew Sinclair’s book, Prohibition: the era of excess, helps the viewers of his article to understand how the supporters and rebels of the prohibition acted during the years that prohibition
