Starting in 1920, America went through a period where alcohol drinking was banned that was called the Prohibition. This era marked a time in history where Americans were expected to give up all alcoholic beverages in an attempt to make its citizens look pious, instead it bought about an era of the most terrible crimes that the United States had ever seen.
The Prohibition started when groups like the Christians and women's suffrage decided it was alcohol that was contributing to the many moral problems in their society and it was responsible for the generally sinful nature of its users.
After years of pressure from the various groups, Congress passed the Volstead Act, which became a law in January of 1920. With this law becoming a federal law, which said that manufacturing and drinking of alcohol was now illegal.
Though people had high hopes for this legislation, it did not accomplish its intended purpose; instead it produced a completely opposite effect. It made people even more determined to have and sell alcohol. All over the country illegal breweries were becoming underground establishments, most of which were figures of organized crime. Now they were able to make money by supplying the demand of the people to have alcohol. Gangs and criminals were willing to kill in order to protect their illegal territory.
Police and federal agents tried to catch anyone that they found in violation of this law. However the more creative they became at trying to catch these violators; the more inventive the criminals became in order to provide alcohol to their customers.
The police soon found that prohibition was futile, there would be know way that they were going to contain the need for alcohol from the citizens of the United States. So after 13 years of Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ended Prohibition and people were finally able to drink beer again.
With the end of Prohibition, manufactures could now produce alcohol legally; quickly it became the number one alcohol drink of Americans. Prohibition did not accomplish its intended goal but it served to prove that Americans love beer.
