Prohibition 1919-1933

The 1920s was a period of great change in the USA. It saw the change of a mainly rural population to a county with the majority of its people living in cities. 

Not everyone was happy with these changes and many rural Americans saw it as a sign of decay. In this climate the Volstead Act was passed in 1919 to stop the production, sale and distribution of alcoholic drinks inside the USA. It was backed up by the Church and Women's groups who blamed the fall in moral values (as they saw it) on drink.

Propaganda appeared by temperance groups to show the 'evils of drink'.

This led to the growth of bootleggers and the illegal drinking houses of the speakeasies. Many people were worried that prohibition made ordinary law abiding citizens into criminals who came into direct contact with the world of lawlessness. 

The famous St Valentines Day masacre in 1928 Frankie Yale, killed on the instructions of Al Capone. These images showed the government that the policy of prohibition was creating greter problems than drink had.

Gangsters like Al Capone grew out of the protection rackets and by 1932 the new president, Roosevelt realised that this policy had to end. His election saw the end of Hoover and the so called 'dry's. In 1933 the 18th amendment was repealed. What was described as the 'noble experiment had come to an end.