never for the people that they represented; they were for continuing Prohibition, something the government created and therefore needed to succeed.The Volstead Act was a preview of the many acts to come the following year. While the government was debating over the content and wording of the 18th Amendment, the Volstead Act was passed in 1919. It defined an intoxicating beverage as one containing over .5% alcohol content. The Volstead Act was responsible, in large part, for the increase of crime that occurred in the early 1920s , which eventually resulted in the prisons exceeding their capacities (Thornton 9). The next action taken centered around the Harrison Narcotics Act. It included a wave of state prohibitions, or local-option laws against alcohol. In the states that were affected, laws concerning alcohol became harsher, and they often became strictly enforced (Thornton 10). This also changed the restrictions on alcohol that were originally applied due to World War I. But, now that the war was over, many citizens were no longer willing to accept these regulations. Again the government did not recognize the growing dissatisfaction of its citizens (Kobler 13).Then came the Wickersham Commission which contained four proposals to the Volstead Act. It first directed that there be a codification of all Prohibition laws over the previous forty years. New legislation would also be required to give extra force to the provisions of the Volstead Act. Thirdly, it was recommended that Prohibition matters be transferred from the Bureau of Treasury to the Department of Justice. The final request included in the Wickersham Commission was that there be trial without jury for any slight violation of the Prohibition Laws (Cashman 208). Once again, this action by the United States did not consider the rights the people were granted by law. Prohibition revealed many important things about the United States. It highlighted the united s...
