Amendment 18 (1919)

Translation: All intoxicating alcoholic beverages after one year will be prohibited along with the producing manufacturing and shipping of any alcohol in the US territory. Congress and the states have the power to enforce this law. This amendment may only pass in the time period of seven years.

History: For the first 100 years of America, people rejected drinking laws; in 1855 in 13 of the 31 states drinking was illegal. The Civil war distracted the people from drinking laws, and saloons and drinking became a common thing. But with drinking came prostitution, gambling, and public drunkenness. Many women tried to stop drinking and this movement was the temperance movement. The Anti-saloon League was formed, in 1915 they got a lot of ASL members into congress and in 1917 Congress passed the 18th amendment and in 1919 it was ratified.

Personal meaning: I feel that it was a waist of tax payers money. Not because it only lasted 14 years and over all it just took away jobs and put money straight into gangs pocket. I think alcohol should be illegal the way people abuse it, but it was pointless because people were drinking more just because it was illegal. It was a good try but people should have been more rational about it, and realized that it was a waist of time and money.