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By 1830, American citizens were estimated to consume around 7.1 gallons of Alcohol per capita on an annual basis. Women and Protestants nationwide saw this as a serious problem. Drunken men hurt their families and lost their jobs.
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As early as 1873, an organization known as the WCTU of Ohio called for the abolition of alcohol consumption. Women saw that drunken men were harming their families and their community and they wanted to put an end to it.
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Soon after the creation of the WCTU in Ohio, the ASL began in Ohio but shortly after spread into a national organization that endorsed politicians who lobbed for the abolition of alcohol. There was much disagreement, because some cultures like Catholicism and Germans had alcohol consumption as a part of their culture. They felt it was a violation of the constitution to prohibate alcohol.
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In 1919, the U.S government ratified the 18th Ammendment which prohibited the consumption of alcohol for U.S citizens. This decision was primarily decided by the Protestant-Ruled government, and women who were angry with their drunken husbands.
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Al Capone was the leader of an organized gang that participated in a variety of illegal activities for money. Specifically relating to the 18th amendmant, he smuggled liqour across boarders and sold it on the black market. He was convicted in 1931 of evasion of sales tax.
Al Capone was expelled from school at age 14 for participating in gang activities. In his early twenties, Capone moved to Chicago to take advantage of the new cash oppertunities that followed the 18th amendmant. -
On March 9th, 1922, the state of New Jersey was the last of the states to accept the 18th amendmant. The first of the states to accept it was Mississippi on January 7th, 1918. The last of the states to accept it were New Jersey on March 9th, 1922. Connecticut and Rhode Island were the only two states to reject the 18th amendment.
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Crime rates soared after the 18th Amendment, and gangters like Al Capone became rich from black market alcohol sales. Al Capone was convicted in 1931 of Tax Evasion, and sentenced to 11 years in Alcatraz federal prizon. He died of a stroke on January 25th, 1947
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On December the FIfth, Nineteen-thirty-three, the 21st Amendment was signed. It is the only one of the U.S government's 27 Amendments that repeals a previous amendment.
