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Prohibition Era Research Paper

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The prohibition era describes a moment in American history where the consumption of alcohol beverages was banned between the years 1913 and 1933. During this time the American congress dismissed all alcohol selling and consumption activities in various states in the U.S. following the requirements of the 18th amendment[footnoteRef:1]. The amendment was approved by the United States congress in the year 1917 and declared the manufacturing sale and transportation of alcoholic material in the country as illegal. The ramification of the amendment was approved by over two thirds of the American congress. Prohibition was to initiate one year later. The prohibition law was perceived as an act of social engineering that could spell out various implications to the American public. What was not understood was whether the governments and citizens were ready to deal with the prohibition. Before the prohibition many Americans labelled themselves as wet or dry. [1: Parramore, Thomas, et al Norfolk: The first four centuries (Charlottesville: University Press of …show more content…
In 100 counties within Virginia, 71 of them were in favor of prohibition with only 29 of them voting against it. Even more surprising, 16 out of the states 20 cities voted going dry. The cities that remained largely wet during the referendum included, Norfolk, Richmond, Arlington, and Norfolk. Consequently, the law was labeled as the Mapp Law and was enacted on the 1st of November 1916[footnoteRef:27]. As a result of the new law, various distillers closed shop including six distillers and over 100 saloons. The major distillers were allowed to produce alcoholic beverages, as long as sales are restricted to other counties and states. Consequently, even Malt Company?s switched to the manufacture of soft drinks and bottled water. [27: Clifford, Experiment in Municipal Reform: The Prohibition Party in Norfolk Politics 1892-1896,

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