The Effects of Prohibition
 Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images An illegal still, circa 1931 |
As we mentioned, Prohibition created a vast illegal market for the production, trafficking and sale of alcohol. In turn, the economy took a major hit, thanks to lost tax revenue and legal jobs.
Prohibition nearly ruined the country's brewing industry. Anheuser-Busch survived Prohibition by turning to other products, such as ice cream, root beer, malt extract and corn syrup. The city of St. Louis boasted 22 breweries before Prohibition, and a mere nine reopened after it ended.
The advent of the Great Depression (1929-1939) caused a huge change in American opinion about Prohibition. Economic issues crippled the country, and it just didn't make sense to those suffering that the country couldn't profit from the legal taxation of alcohol. After all, the gangsters and bootleggers certainly seemed to benefit.
Prohibition also produced some interesting statistics concerning the health of Americans.
Prohibition in Hollywood Al Capone died 60 years ago, but the gangster legend lives on in scores of movies, books and TV
shows. "Little Caesar" was an immensely popular film about 1920s
gangsters that helped spawn a heap of others. Following the movie's
release in 1930, more than 50 others were put out in the next year
alone. True and fictional stories from that time have yielded many
other incredibly popular films, like "The Godfather," "Scarface" and
"Public Enemy." And country bootleggers are often depicted as folk
heroes -- think "The Dukes of Hazzard." Roaring '20s style, immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," also has its place in TV and movie history. Hard-partying flappers -- and their short hair, fringed dresses and hip flasks -- are still glamorized today, most recently in the movie musical "Chicago." |
- Deaths caused by cirrhosis of the liver in men dropped to 10.7 men per 100,000 from 29.5 men per 100,000 from 1911 to 1929 [source: Digital History].
- On the other hand, adulterated or contaminated liquor contributed to more than 50,000 deaths and many cases of blindness and paralysis. It's pretty safe to say this wouldn't have happened in a country where liquor production was monitored and regulated [source: Digital History].
- Alcohol consumption during Prohibition declined between 30 and 50 percent [source: Digital History].
- Conversely, by the end of the 1920s there were more alcoholics and illegal drinking establishments than before Prohibition [source: Encyclomedia.com].
