In 1919 the United States Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution making alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the country. This began a period known as Prohibition. Many other countries had tried to pass similar laws at various times, but most of them later changed the laws. Similarly, in the United States Prohibition became so unpopular that Congress passed another amendment in 1933 that brought an end to the ban on alcohol. Efforts to limit the use of alcoholic beverages began in the United States during the 1820s. The first state to pass a prohibition law was Maine in 1846. The Anti-Saloon league was founded in 1893 and picked up supporters in the 20th century. Finally the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ushered in Prohibition. It was passed by the states in 1919 and took effect the following year. By this time, 33 of the 48 states already had prohibition laws in effect. Despite the law, illegal manufacture and sales of liquor went on in the United States on a large scale. Some people made their own beer, wine, and other mixtures at home. Others went to illegal saloons called speakeasies, which got their alcohol from people known as bootleggers. Criminal gangs battled for control of the trade. Gangsters like Al Capone became famous, and the whole period became known for its lawlessness. In 1932, the Democratic Party rose to power promising to bring an end to Prohibition. Before the end of 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment had been passed to repeal the Eighteenth. |