What did.....?

Question

what did supporters of prohibition assume outlawing alcohol would accomplish......and how accurate were their assumptions

Answer 1

The prohibitionists were primarily from the countryside and most were heavily religious. They viewed drinking as a sin, since is destroyed families and kept people from going to Church. Their assumptions that less drinking lead to a better society were accurate, but they failed to take some important factors into account: that drinking was very widespread, that it was part of the great American tradition, and that it was a result of miserable factory life. By not taking these factors into account, the prohibitionits' expectations of "pure living" failed. The problem with drinking wasn't a tiny sip now and then. No, that had always been all right in America (still is!) The Guilded-Age-style Heavy drinking was fueled by a hard and frustrating factory life. Drinking was actually a symptom of a much bigger problem: poor job security, miserable job conditions, corrupt government and terrible pay in city jobs. These jobs were growing, and more and more people went to the city for work. The prohibitionists approach was too radical, and it failed. That was why, in the 1920s, there were liquor-gang wars. Of course, conditions in factories eventually got better, but the ban on liquor wasn't lifted. Americans love their liquor, so even the best Americans secretly hoarded it.

Answer 2

Supporters of prohibition thought that the crime rate would decrease, and that more people would turn to God instead of alcohol.

Their assumptions were completely wrong. Prohibition led to organized crime as we know it today, a rampant increase in the murder rate, and even more drunkenness. Speak-easy's (underground taverns) became more common than bars ever were, and usually were protected by the police and the mob.

Al Capone made his rise to power as a result of Prohibition. He provided a "need" that was not being met by importing millions of gallons of alcohol from Canada and by creating countless illegal distilleries. These were protected by corrupt cops and his own enforcers.

The mafia probably would not have the power and influence it has today if it were not for prohibition. This law was a Godsend to organized crime.

Answer 3

They thought society would improve. The only thing that improved was that there were less incidents of domestic abuse. But organized crime skyrocketed.
We should lift the ban on ALL illegal recreational drugs. Society would improve because the price would come down and there would be LESS crime (organized or not).
And besides, nobody ever beats up their old lady when their high on pot, anyway.