When the prohibition of alcohol act on January 16, 1920 went in to affect, it not only stopped legal sale of alcoholic beverages. It increased the production of soft drinks and spurred the growth of tea rooms. To find an alternative to alcoholic beverages, people struggled and sometimes had to resolve to working behind the back of the government. Many hotels, restaurants and wine industries closed down. Hotels began serving fruit cocktail cups often garnished with marshmallows or powdered sugar. This replaced fresh oysters on a half shell with champagne at dinner party openers. The wine industries, unable to sell wine, changed their grapes to juice grapes. Only a small portion of the juice was sold as juice. Most of it was sold as home-brewed wine. It wasn't a very sophisticated viniferous product, but selling the juice this way helped many wine industries get through the prohibition.
Even though alcohol consumption was prohibited, it didn't stop the people from drinking. When the act was passed, only a year after the prohibition had the consumption went down. The consumption of alcohol went up again to its original state. The largest amount of gallons consumed after the prohibition was 1.3 gallons per capital.
I liked how you mentioned the effect that it not only had on people but in work facilities as well as other products like soft drinks. The graph that you added really helps the reader visualize the the tremendous amounts of alcohol that was consumed by people and how the prohibition of alcohol didn't really stop people from consuming it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good post. You took a look at one very important event in American history, one that turned into an amendment. The prohibition movement was one that had been brewing for decades, but these results probably weren't what they expected. Overall, it won't be seen as a total success as it created more crime than had been before.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Within the roaring twenties there seems to be the common pattern of the rule breaking society. Not only is there a new questioning of the supposed unquestionable bible and the new version of a free and even rebellious woman, but as you mentioned, there is also the carelessness about the prohibition and how it almost gave drinking more appeal to the general public.
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