OUTLINE
Thesis: National Prohibition in the United States was doomed to fail from the beginning.
I. Introduction:
Prohibition in the United States was doomed to fail from the beginning. There are many reasons why Prohibition was a failure and in the following pages I would like to explore those reasons. Although the intentions were “noble”, not only did Prohibition not achieve its goals it subsequently added to many of the problems that it intended to solve.
II. Reasons behind Prohibition:
a. In 1673, Increase Mather, a Puritan leader, stated, “Wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the devil” (Hill, 7).
b. In 1836, The American Temperance Union was established. Originally temperance concentrated on getting people to drink in moderation.
c. The Civil War put temperance and Prohibition on the back burner.
III. Enforcement of Prohibition:
a. Enforcement of Prohibition proved to be extremely overwhelming.
b. Even the law itself was elusive.
c. It didn’t occur to anyone that a Constitutional Mandate would be ignored.
d. This was the biggest endeavor ever attempted to alter the social habits of the American people.
IV. Crime and Corruption:
a. Organizing organized crime took a giant step forward when Johnny Torrio took over “Big Jim Colosimon’s” gang.
b. Organized crime peaked during the Prohibition era.
c. In New York, Charles “Lucky” Luciano was making a name for himself.
V. The Demise of Prohibition:
a.&nb ...