1. In 1919, the 18th Amendment was passed, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol nationwide in order to curb alcohol consumption and change public morality. 2. However, this led to the rise of underground bars called speakeasies and organized crime groups who bootlegged and smuggled alcohol. Gangsters like Al Capone gained power through illegal alcohol distribution. 3. Prohibition was ultimately repealed in 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment due to its failure to achieve its moral goals and the economic losses of untaxed alcohol sales.

1. Prohibition
USII.6b

2. Digital Resources
1920”s, Prohibition
• Start at the beginning
• End at 2:30
2:30-4:00 – Do Not Show (Violence & Organized Crime)
“Dawn of the 1920’s”: Optimism, Skyscrapers, Movement
to Cities, Wall Street, Stocks & Tycoons
• Restart at 4:05
• End at 9:00
The Century: America’s Time
Boom to Bust: 1 of 3

3. America: The Story of
Us
• Start at 33:12 – End at 39:00
– Prohibition, 18th Amendment, Bootleggers/Rum Runners, Gangsters/Organized Crime/Al
Capone
• 39:00 - 40:28 – DO NOT SHOW!!!
– Graphic Reenactment and photographs of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
• Restart at 40:29 – End of Show
– Balistic Forensics, Capone’s Arrest, End of Prohibition, 21st Amendment
“Boom”

4. REVIEW:
18th Amendment
1. With the _______________________,
progressives tried to change and manage
morality in America by prohibiting alcohol in
America.
2. In 1919, they were successful with the passage
of the ____ Amendment which made it illegal
to manufacture, transport, or sell alcoholic
beverages.
3. Prohibition – The passing of laws to _________
the making or selling of alcohol.
Temperance Movement
prohibit
18th

5. Results of Prohibition
4. ____________ were
underground clubs created as
place for people to drink
alcoholic beverages.
Cotton Club, Harlem NYC; Cab Calloway
Speakeasies What to see an
actual NYC
underground bar?
Click on the movie

6. Speakeasies cont…
• New York Time:
Speakeasy Slideshow
– http://nyti.ms/1xMit3z

7. Results of Prohibition
5. ___________ made and
smuggled alcohol illegally
and promoted __________
_______ (gangs).
Bootleggers
Arrested & shamed
Bootleggers in a Detroit
Police Station.
Organized
Crime

8. Results of Prohibition
6. Prohibition was _________ by the
_____ Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
repealed
21st

9. Vintage Newsreel: End of
Prohibition

10. Reasons why Prohibition
Failed…
The United States was founded on the idea the
people are free and that all Americans have the right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So, by trying to
control the moral behavior of Americans, preventing
them to consume alcohol, the government was going
against the basic foundations of our democracy.
Plus, with the 18th Amendment, the government lost a
whole lot of money! If the sale of alcohol was illegal,
then the government couldn’t collect sales tax on alcohol.
That was a significant amount of money for the
government to lose!
EXTENSION:

11. Extension Questions:
1.Why did Prohibition fail?
2.Did Prohibition have a negative effect on
America’s economy?
1.Who benefited from the repeal of Prohibition?