Prohibition and the American People Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president in American history, is believed to have said, “Prohibition will do great harm to the cause of temperance. It is a kind of intemperance in itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control man's appetites by legislation, and makes a crime that which is not a crime. A prohibition law deals a severe blow to the very principles on which our government was founded.” The temperance movement pressured government officials to make changes in the United States, one of these changes was put into effect by the 18th Amendment. This amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, but not consumption. This period in the 1920s became known as Prohibition. There were many unions that formed to permanently ban alcohol, but standing in their way was the common man fighting for his right to drink once again. Although many believed that Prohibition was rightfully signed into law and would help America be more successful, findings such as prevalent crime, constant lawbreaking, and corrupt and lawless police forces show that the prohibitionists couldn't be more wrong. it was a recipe for disaster from the beginning, and many different problems rose to the surface due to the change in everyday American life. Organized crime was a direct product of the 18th Amendment. Before the passage of the amendment, there were few organized crimes and mafias, but shortly after the passage of the 18th amendment, they began to thrive. Since there were bans on alcohol, crowds jumped at the opportunity to get rich because the demand for alcohol was so high. Gangster on...... middle of paper ......mineral, no need to ban him from the army. Furthermore, it was not necessary for all the grain used in America to go towards the war effort. To summarize, the prohibitionists who were trying to make this country better ended up misanalyzing the situation, solving little and causing a lot of problems for this country. Prohibition was one of the few times America truly underestimated the toll the law would have on society. Much of the government, courts and police have been manipulated and this has made our country full of unnecessary crime. All that came from Prohibition were terrible results on every aspect of life. It's hard to find positive results in that time period because so many things went wrong. There is a lesson that has come from all the struggles: do not take away the things that are desired by the general population otherwise things will get out of control.