Alcohol Prohibition

Introduction

The American experience with alcohol prohibition in the early twentieth century, could be termed as a sought of mystery in American history in policy making. This can be attributed to a number of reasons such as the fact that it represented a series of ‘firsts’ in the American law making process. This was the first time that a law that was termed as anti-progressive was passed since it affected a big chunk of the American economy. This legislation was the first of its kind to go against he American citizens individual liberties which was contrary to the eighteenth amendment of the American constitution. The amendment that came thereafter was the first of its kind to nullify another constitutional amendment.

There is need to understand whether the then policy makers made the right decision in coming up with alcohol prohibition policies or whether the American government at the time bowed down to pressure from socialist groups, without considering all facts like many of the western countries had done so during that period. Therefore to get a better understanding of prohibition in American policy making one has to understand why the government opted to enforce prohibition as one of the many policies that were used to curb alcoholism in the United States.

Why alcohol prohibition

A lot of studies on alcohol prohibition by scholars reveal the specific factors that led to the prohibition incorporated in the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act. However, there have been scant explanations as to what led to the nationwide prohibition in the first place. Over the years, different studies have tried to explain what let up to the alcohol prohibition. Some of the studies concluded that the fact that there were strong leaders in the temperament movements who offered strong activism against alcohol thus leaving the America government with no other reason but to prohibit it. The temperament movements were a force to recon with on their own.

Others have view that prohibition as a result of the reaction of rural native born Protestants to urbanization and immigration which had been on a steady rise during the early twentieth century. What is common is the fact that all these studies depict the fact that the prohibition happened as a result of increased immigration and the rise of urban morality, right to vote, and he increased voices in the country. However, all this accounts do not show the real reason why there was wide spread political support for a prohibition amendment to the American constitution and why it was speedily ratified.