Prohibition led to discrimination among classes, inflated tax rates, and increases in morality and women's suffrage. The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States and its possessions. Contrary to common belief, it did not prohibit the purchase or consumption of alcohol.
Prohibition would lead to an exponential growth in organized crime. Mobsters like Al Capone and Dutch Schultz saw prohibition as an opportunity to further expand their "legitimate businesses"
Prohibition would lead to an exponential growth in organized crime. Mobsters like Al Capone and Dutch Schultz saw prohibition as an opportunity to further expand their "legitimate businesses"
Al "Scarface" Capone: One of the most famous American gangsters, Al Capone, also known as "Scarface," rose to infamy as the leader of the Chicago mafia during the Prohibition era. Before being sent to Alcatraz Prison in 1931 from a tax evasion conviction, he had amassed a personal fortune estimated at $100 million and was responsible for countless murders. He benefited from prohibition because the outlawing of liquor allowed him to seize the control on the distribution on that product. Without prohibition, Capone may have never rose to infamy.
Dutch Schultz: Dutch Schultz was born Arthur Flegenheimer on August 6, 1902, in the Bronx, New York. After his father left the family, Schultz turned to burglary, then bootlegging. Soon he expanded into illegal gambling, clashing with rival gangsters Legs Diamond and Vincent Coll. In the 1930s he was targeted by both the IRS and criminal prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey. Schultz was killed by an unknown gunman in 1935. Prohibition gave Schultz the ultimate chance to expand his brand and empire and even expand into things like illegal gambling.
21st Amendment: The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 17, 1920. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions. The Amendment also essentially brought an end to organized crime and the gangsters associated with it.