In our time working with events of the 1920’s we have been
able to connect Prohibition to several factors of the era; two examples being
Women’s Suffrage and Civil Rights. Based on what we have learned in class, I
have come to the conclusion that Prohibition was supposed to be a “fix all”
solution during the Progressive Era. People like to blame things that go wrong
on other people and possessions, and during this time the chosen victim was
alcohol. The idea was that alcohol brought all trouble into society, like
violence and misconduct, and if alcohol were to disappear the negativity would
follow. The problem is, alcohol is not
the root of all evil. Thus, abolishing its use didn't make all problems
disappear. Not to say that excessive alcohol consumption didn't cause some
major problems that Prohibition could have fixed. Public misconduct induced by
alcohol most likely decreased, and there is possibility that drunken violence
was also minimized. However, while the possibility stands that Prohibition did
some good, it also majorly established other illegal acts, like bootlegging
alcohol. Therefore, not only was there more illegal activity occurring in
result of Prohibition, but alcohol was still available to those who wanted it.
Ultimately, the “fix all” solution to the problems in society was not a
solution at all, and while we wish we could blame all wrong doings on one
thing, it's unrealistic for things to be so easy.
