Prohibition: the Noble Experiment Failed

Supporters of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution attempted to eliminate booze from American society 97 years ago. Called the “Noble Experiment”, Prohibition prevented the production, sale and transport of intoxicating liquors throughout the United States starting in January, 1920.

Prohibition ended nearly 14 years later with the enactment of the 21st Amendment. That amendment stopped Prohibition and marked the first time a constitutional amendment was repealed. The years that Prohibition existed were filled with gangland violence, crooked law enforcement, and millions of dollars lost in tax revenues not collected for liquor sales. President Herbert Hoover popularized the term the Noble Experiment in describing Prohibition even though it was law nine years before he served his one term in office.

Ironically, the act of drinking alcohol during Prohibition remained legal, so people could drink and even share their booze with family and friends inside their homes as long as they didn’t charge for it or transport it for sale.

Supporters of Prohibition pushed for what they called a “dry society” that would not consume alcohol. Usually based on religious revivalism that swept the United States during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the anti-liquor groups preached that drinking alcohol affected the morality of society in general and specifically damaged the structure of American families.

A small group of prohibition zealots went into neighborhood taverns where they smashed bottles off the walls while customers scattered for their lives. One well known supporter of violent moves against taverns was Carry (sometimes spelled Carrie) Nation.

She was a renowned anti-drinking leader who began her agenda against alcohol primarily in Kentucky and Missouri in the early 1900’s. As her influence and notoriety grew, Nation organized parades and gained supporters in major cities in the eastern part of the country such as New York and Boston.

She promoted temperance (abstinence of drinking alcohol) and addressed groups of likeminded people. Nation encouraged nondrinkers, who called themselves “teetotalers”, to copy her violent methods to stop the sale of alcohol that she claimed destroyed American families.

She and several teetotalers would attack saloons and liquor stores by barging in and smashing bottles of alcohol and barrels of beer. It was a wild scene whenever Nation and her mob of supporters waved hatchets and crowbars as they screamed their hatred of alcohol.

Nation, an imposing figure standing six feet tall in a long, black dress, would shout at the patrons who typically bumped into each other as they ran for the exit. She was arrested and jailed several times for destroying property and injuring bystanders.

A hatchet Nation used to smash bottles became a symbol of her temperance campaign. She began selling hatchets to people in the crowds that gathered when she spoke about God’s desire for a dry society. She used the money from selling her symbol of temperance to fund her anti-drinking campaign. She died in 1911, nine years before the 18th Amendment became law. She was 64 years old.

The 18th Amendment did not specify the content of alcohol beverages. In the fall of 1919, the U.S. Congress passed a rider to the 18th Amendment. Called the “Volstead Act”, it was a law passed by both houses of Congress and was designed to carry out the intent of Prohibition. The Volstead Act spelled out particular rules that included a .5% limit of alcohol content in beer that could be consumed.

The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act often are referred to incorrectly as the same thing. Congress approved the Volstead Act in October of 1919 after the 18th Amendment was ratified January of that year. The amendment and the Volstead Act became active at the same time in January, 1920.  

Andrew Volstead was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He managed the legislation that was drafted from a bill written by a special interest group called the Anti-Saloon League. The Volstead Act was designed to give the enforcement needed to make Prohibition work. But the law had loopholes and exceptions that weakened its intent.

Physicians could prescribe whiskey for medicinal use, and Volstead’s law allowed the use of alcoholic beverages in religious rituals. Also, the law permitted storing a large supply of alcohol for use in scientific research and in the development of fuel, dyes and other industrial practices. And citizens could make up to 200 gallons of wine a year for personal use.  

Large shipments of liquor could be bought outside the U.S. and smuggled past authorities who accepted bribes to look the other way. The easy access to liquor in large supplies encouraged organized crime to develop an industry that catered to people who wanted booze. Criminal gangs ranging in size from small, neighborhood crooks to nationally known gangsters sold illegal alcohol that made profits reaching hundreds of millions of dollars a year.  

The country’s economy went into a steep dive during the Great Depression that started in May, 1929. But even with an unemployment rate reaching past 25%, the illegal sale of liquor continued to grow.

Over time, the social acceptance of drinking and the violence of organized crime weakened the public support of Prohibition. Franklin D. Roosevelt fought against Prohibition during his presidential campaign.

Roosevelt defeated incumbent President Herbert Hoover and took office March, 1933. The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act both were abolished on December 5, 1933. The president toasted his success in legalizing booze with a martini, his favorite drink.

President Roosevelt (right), with former President Hoover

The Noble Experiment to stop people from drinking alcohol was a failure. Repealing Prohibition was a direct result of the crime and corruption that occurred during the more than 13 years it was law. Thousands of people lost jobs related to the beer and alcohol industries. The national economy suffered while gangsters became rich as they supplied people with the liquor they wanted.

The 21st Amendment gave back to the individual states their authority to regulate booze consumption. Once again, Americans had the personal freedom to decide to consume alcohol or not based on their own preferences.