Prohibition
Get the facts: Is Prohibition good or bad?
By: Abby Bass
The 18th amendment, also known as Prohibition, made distibution and intake of alcohol illegal. This movement started in the 1800's but gained speed in the early 1900's, and especially during World War I. It was easy for rural areas and small towns to obey and enforce this new law, but it was much harder in the urban areas.
Since no type of alcohol was allowed, there was a lot of smuggling and illegal distribution. Many people gained a lot of wealth through smuggling and distibuting the alcohol. Since it was not a one person job, this created a lot of organized crime. One of the infamous smugglers(called bootleggers) was Al Capone.
There were parties where alcohol was distibuted and drank. These parties were called speakeasies. They were very sectretive and were often in abandoned building, behind walls, in secret rooms, and sometimes underground. To get into these parties, a person would have to have connections and a password.
The 18th amendment was repealed by the 21st amendment.