Why Did America Change Its Mind About Prohibition?

Why Did America Change Its Mind About Prohibition?In the early 20th century, nearly a hundred years after the ratification of the 21st amendment, many social scientists and historians suggested that America changed its mind about alcohol. Others argued that America changed its mind only temporarily and that by the mid-twentieth century, when the belief that prohibition was a failure became widespread, Americans could be seen to be in denial about the failure of the Temperance movement. Either way, it's clear that some people in America have a great deal of interest in the topic of Prohibition.Because of the peculiarities of American political culture, there are arguments both for and against the abolition of Prohibition. This essay discusses some of these topics, as well as what is at stake for a present-day observer of the history of Prohibition.At the height of the debate over Prohibition, thousands of papers were published in the nation's newspapers and magazines. The debate over Prohibition at the time was primarily between political conservatives and progressives. The leading political conservatives were those who believed that the consumption of alcohol was inherently evil and dangerous, while those progressives believed that the consumption of alcohol was a natural human need that had been met in a healthy manner by the introduction of Prohibition. Progressives said that prohibition was a misguided attempt to control a natural market and that an entirely different approach would be required to address the problem.For many supporters of prohibition, it was never really about the threat of alcoholism. It was, rather, a matter of social control and the suppression of the 'vice.' Conservatives argued that liquor regulation would curtail the harms done by the 'vice' by providing evidence of its harms. Their argument for the morality of prohibition was based on what they saw as the truth: that liquor was responsible for crime, particularly in areas where it wa s highly popular.Those who believed in the morality of temperance were not alone in their beliefs. Most people in America believed that alcoholic beverages were harmful to the user. Also, most people in America had a strong taste for beer. Even those who believed in the morality of temperance had a strong preference for beer over wine.In other words, the overwhelming majority of people in America did not like to drink alcohol. In fact, few people drank at all. In terms of what was at stake for a modern observer of the Prohibition debate, the argument that Prohibition was not a genuine attempt to control the abuse of alcohol (because the number of drinkers was very small) did not really stand up to scrutiny. Instead, the argument that Prohibition was simply an attempt to regulate the alcohol market was made, and it worked. Not only did Prohibition do a good job regulating the alcohol market, but it also created a brand new business sector that continues to this day.If you are arguing that alcohol was more important than control of abuse, then you have to concede that most people in America opposed the regulation of the alcohol market. Further, the evidence that drinking is bad and that moderation is good - arguments that most progressives believed - seem to contradict each other. If most people want beer and do not want booze, then it seems that the question of 'Why did America change its mind about prohibition?' has already been answered.If you are arguing that some combination of those two things played a role in Prohibition's failure, then you must concede that a strong majority of people in America supported the regulation of the alcohol market, as well as the religious beliefs that most progressives believed in. Thus, if you want to understand why America changed its mind about Prohibition, you have to look not just at the arguments but also at the beliefs of the people who supported the enforcement of Prohibition.