hat brought about more crime. Because of all the negative things that began to occur, many citizens developed a hatred toward the government for instituting Prohibition.The Womens Organization for National Prohibition Reform, The National Association Opposed to Prohibition, The Moderation League, and the American Veterans Association for the Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment were just a few of the coalitions that existed during the Prohibition Era which complained about the injustices of making the nation dry (Cashman 161). These groups, besides leading rallies against Prohibition, often wrote letters to the United States government discussing the harm they saw in the Amendment. This approach was the route that the less radical of anti-prohibitionists took (Cashman 162-164).The ratification of the 18th Amendment, which stated, After one year from the ratification of this, manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation, there of into, or the exportation there of from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction there of for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited (Constitution Article XVIII: Kobler 11), incensed many people. As a result, the underground production of alcohol sky-rocketed. Many new problems arose because of individual production. The price of liquor increased dramatically. Beer prices rose 700%, brandy rose 433%, and spirits increased 270% from their pre- Prohibition prices (Thornton 4). The potency of alcoholic beverages increased drastically as well, by an average of 150%. This resulted in much more alcohol by volume (Thornton 4). Although liquor was illegal by amendment, the availability of alcohol actually increased, and so did the amount people consumed. The consumption of alcohol rose to 22.8 gallons/year per capita during the height of Prohibition from five times less than that in 1850 (Merz 12). Prohibitionists further lost control because they w...
