Prohibition 17-3

Prohibition Reasons to ban alcohol: Reduce unemployment Reduce domestic violence Reduce poverty Increase health Increase worker productivity/safety

Prohibition Eighteenth Amendment—passed in 1920 Volstead Act—U.S. Treasury responsible for enforcing Prohibition POLICE POWERS (more than enforcing tax laws) Power to control people/property to protect public safety, health, welfare, morals Increase in Federal police powers

Prohibition Struggle to enforce Prohibition Speakeasies—illegal bars 540,000 arrests, but MANY Americans blatantly ignored the law Speakeasies—illegal bars 32,000 in NYC Bootlegging—illegal production/distribution Prominent in rural areas Moonshine

Organized Crime Huge profits smuggling liquor from Canada and Caribbean Gangsters had enough money to corrupt politicians

Organized Crime Al Capone Eliot Ness Police, judges, officials on payroll Chicago Eliot Ness Brought Capone to justice (for tax evasion) 70 feds killed while enforcing Prohibition

Prohibition Ends Twenty-First Amendment—(1933) ended Prohibition Prohibition slightly reduced alcohol consumption, but it didn’t improve society the way those in the temperance movement hoped

Write down three laws that affect your personal choice and one individual reason why you think those laws were enacted

Possible Answers Smoking in public Physician-assisted suicide Gay marriage Medical marijuana Abortion Why do these laws exist? Whose rights are protected, and whose are violated?

On the following slide a list of proposed laws regulating personal behavior will be displayed. Review each law in pairs and determine whether or not you agree or disagree with the law and why. You do not have to agree

• In an effort to protect young people from overstimulating their young bodies, the Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban prohibiting children under 18 from buying energy drinks. • Several city council members are concerned about the increased number of bicycle riders on crowded city streets. They are considering enacting an ordinance that would fine any bicycle rider not wearing a helmet on city streets. • Concerned that individuals might compromise their health and hoping to avoid black marketeering, the federal government is looking to ban organ donations for profit. No person will be allowed to sell his or her organs to organ banks. People can donate organs only when they are deceased. • Several members of Congress want to repeal a law that would require households to use only energy-efficient light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent light bulbs. • Several states are considering repealing laws requiring the wearing of seat belts in motor vehicles. • A school board is considering a ban on cell phones owing to their suspected link to brain cancer and the disruption they cause in class

Why might some people think such laws are needed Why might some people think such laws are needed? Who might benefit from these laws? How might any of these laws restrict some people’s rights? Who might be negatively affected by them? Do you feel these laws benefit the many at the expense of the few, or the other way around? Explain why. Do you feel these laws should stay as is, be amended, or be repealed? Explain how.