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18th amendment
The 18th Amendment went into effect a year after it was ratified. The amendment banned the manufacturing, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors. By the time it went into effect, 33 states had already implemented their own prohibition legislation. Women supported the amendment because they felt as if alcohol was ruining marriages and families. Factory owners supported it because it led to fewer accidents. -
Volstead Act
Congress put forth the National Prohibition Act in October of 1919. It was more commonly known as the Volstead Act. It provided guidelines for the federal enforcement of Prohibition. It was orchestrated by Representative Andrew Volstead of Minnesota, which is why it was known as the Volstead Act. -
19th Amendment
It was first proposed at the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention in 1948 that women should have a right to vote, which is what ultimately started the movement. Gradually in the 20th century, it was starting to get approved state by state and then on August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment was passed giving them the right to vote. -
WCTU membership was 344,892.
WTCU stands for Woman's Christian Temperance Union. They were a group of women who were an active international temperance organization that was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform. They played a huge role in the Prohibition movement. They supported it because they thought that alcohol was tearing apart their families and marriages. This group gained many members and played a huge role in prohibition. -
New Jersey added its ratification
While the 18th Amendment had already been ratified, New Jersey was the last state to take a position on the amendment. They were the 48th state to state their position and the 46th state to vote for ratification. As you can tell from that, the majority of states were in favor of this process, even though it took a while for all states to state their side/position. -
National Prohibition Party President and Vice President
The National Prohibition Party voted in Herman P. Faris from Missouri, for President. A woman, Marie C. Brehm from California, was voted in as Vice President. This shows how influential women were in this movement. -
Scofflaw
The Boston Herald offered $200 to the reader who came up with a brand-new word for someone who flagrantly ignored the edict and drank liquor that had been illegally made or illegally sold. $25,000 people responded and two readers split the prize. They had both thought of the same word as "Scofflaw." -
The Wall Street Crash Begins
At this time the Wall Street Crash began. That is what ushered in the Great Depression. Alcohol was the fifth largest industry in the US. Shutting that industry down could have contributed to the fall of Wall Street. The economy became poor during Prohibition, and illegal bars called Speakeasies didn't help. -
Al Capone
The Prohibition era encouraged the rise of criminal activity associated with bootlegging which was the illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor. The most famous example of this was Al Capone, who earned around $60 million annually from bootleg operations and speakeasies which were illegal bars.