The 18th Amendment to the Constitution was implemented as the result of a many decades long crusade in favor of Prohibition by several women's groups (Women's National Christian Temperance Union), the Anti-Saloon League, and Protestant congregations who felt that alcoholism in America was a serious moral problem and could not be curtailed without help from the government. By 1830, the American population was consuming 7.1 gallons of alcohol per capita on an annual basis; by the early 20th century, there were more bars, taverns, and saloons than there were schools, libraries, or hospitals (Stratton, 2009).

While many believed that the Prohibition movement was a noble effort, the 18th Amendment really did nothing to enforce the principles of a "dry" nation. In fact, much like President Nixon's War on Drugs, the Prohibition had quite the opposite of the desired effect and was nearly impossible to enforce. More than that, without the regulation of the ATF to oversee and enforce the standards in the alcohol creation and distillery process, not only illegal but physiologically toxic and contaminated substances like lead and anti-freeze were found in such products as "bath tub gin" and "moonshine" which was manufactured and distilled covertly through car radiators. Another fun fact, the first car engine designed to burn alcohol was created by a "moonshiner" (Shooter, 2011).

Prohibition lasted from 1919 until 1933. All beer, wine, and liquor was outlawed and destroyed. Prohibitionists thought they would create a god-fearing nation of sober, hard-working individuals. Unfortunately, alcohol is so easy to make that prison inmates today can do it under constant watch using nothing but fresh fruit, water, and sugar packets. Prohibition didn't destroy the knowledge of home-brewing, and those that were willing to break the law saw a vast supply of willing buyers. They contracted with mobsters (such as Al Capone) to distribute it, and organized crime was rampant across the nation (FBI, 1936). People stopped respecting the rule of law entirely. Illegal production was common, and illegal consumption was nearly universal.

Prohibition was arguably a complete and total abject failure. For instance, before the Prohibition, the U.S. drank 140 million gallons of alcohol per year. After the Prohibition, the U.S. drank no less than 200 million gallons of alcohol per year (Fortune, 1933). That's a 70% increase in not only illegally made alcohol, but illegally consumed by the public. The Prohibition was a complete waste of time, money, and effort, and contributed to the very problems it was created to solve.

Not only was the Prohibition a failure, it was also ridiculously costly and poorly planned out. The amount of money literally poured down the drain over the 14.5 years that the Prohibition lasted are nearly astronomical. At a rough estimate of $10 million gallons a year, across 200,000 square miles, at an estimated rate of $1 dollar a gallon amounts to $145 million commercial dollars, and 30-40% of missed tax income (Henchman, 2011). On top of this, filling jails with illegal alcohol drinkers as opposed to real criminals lead to resources being stretched thin. Not to mention the fact of mobster shoot-outs, high body counts, unsolvable crimes and low paid public servants due to not enough tax dollars to meet the nation's crime demands -- All contributing to the nullification of the Volstead Act and the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933. The 18th Amendment and the Prohibition Era marks another period in history in which bad decisions which affected a multitude of individuals were made due to the influential forces of a few -- Special interest groups. I believe the repeal of the 18th Amendment was an entirely justified (and important) decision in light of the original breach in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution during the 18th Amendment's ratification. The Establishment Clause was made to prohibit the establishment of a national religion by Congress, or the preference of the U.S. government of one religion over another. The 18th Amendment was in direct violation of the Establishment Clause, as Congress caved to the will of special interest and Protestant Congregational groups. The Constitution is there to assign the same level of protections for drunken atheists participating and reveling in debauchery in flap-houses as it is for "dry" god-fearing Christians who attend church every Sunday.

References

Federal Bureau of Investigation (1936). Famous cases and criminals. Retrieved from: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/al-capone

Henchman, Joseph (2011). How taxes enabled alcohol prohibition and lead to its repeal. Retrieved from: http://taxfoundation.org/blog/how-taxes-enabled-alcohol-prohibition-and-also-led-its-repeal

Shooter (2011). The science and history of moonshine. Retrieved from: http://www.instituteofman.com/2011/08/24/the-science-and-history-of-moonshine/

Stratton, Jerry (2009). Drinking in america: a history. Retrieved from: http://www.hoboes.com/Politics/Prohibition/Notes/Drinking/