Honors
Historical question: Is Prohibition similar to the issues we are facing now?
Thesis Statement: The ​sociopolitical, economic, and criminal​ effects of prohibition reflect many debates and policies that divide America today
Why did I chose this topic?
With the recent developments with laws regarding the recreational use of marijuana openly defying the laws of the federal government I was fascinated by the similarities with Prohibition felt the essay would be interesting since it would relate to our time now especially with the 100 year anniversary of the start of Prohibition beginning soon
Did my historical question change during the process?
While my question did not change my initial points I planned on making did. When I first started I expected to base most of my evidence and arguments off of the similarities criminal enterprises now and organized crime then. Essentially on how both benefited from providing something illegal. My proccess however showed many other similarities in the inital backlask from alcholol in the 1920s and marojana between 1980 and the early 2000s.
Sources
1
Munro, Niall. “Scattered Chapter.” Scattered Chapter, 1 Jan. 1970, scatteredchapter.blogspot.com/.
2
“Pablo Escobar.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar.February 2012.
3
Thornton, Mark. Cato Institute Policy Analysis No. 157: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure. object.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa157.pdf.
4
“1880 Census.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Apr. 2010, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1880_census.
5
U.S. Department of Justice. Fact Sheet: Drug-Related Crime. www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/DRRC.PDF.
6
CNN. (2018). What's behind America's high incarceration rate?. [online] Available at: https://www.cnn.com/ampstories/us/whats-behind-americas-high-incarceration-rate [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
7
Okrent, Daniel. “Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.” Amazon, Amazon, 31 May 2011, www.amazon.com/Last-Call-Rise-Fall-Prohibition/dp/074327704X.
8
Fuller, Thomas. “Recreational Pot Is Officially Legal in California.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/us/legal-pot-california.html.
9
Trueman. “Prohibition and the Gangsters.” History Learning Site, History Learning Site, 22 May 2015, www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/america-1918-1939/prohibition-and-the-gangsters/.
10
Beard, Doug. “Commentary: Wet vs. Dry in Adair County on ColumbiaMagazine.com.” Welcome to Columbia Magazine, www.columbiamagazine.com/index.php?sid=80968.
11
Biography.com Editors. “Al Capone.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 3 Jan. 2018, www.biography.com/people/al-capone-9237536.
12
History.com Editors. “War on Drugs.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 31 May 2017, www.history.com/topics/crime/the-war-on-drugs.
Prohibition
From 1920 to 1933 alcohol was deemed illegal on a national scale. Pushed by temperance movements prohibition was implemented in hopes of reducing crime and better relationships between husbands and their families. Following 1920 however millions of Americans turned to crime and criminal organizations to fuel their need for alcohol
Organized crime was able to profit off of Americans need for over a decade. Thousands of illegal drinking locations called speakeasies were in New York alone and crime bosses like Al Capone made over 50 million dollars. Prohibition was set out to reduce crime but had actually lead to an increase as well as a greater more funded organization of crime
​
It wasn't until December 5th 1933 that Prohibition was repelled due to the lack of enforcement that had happened and the thousands of deaths over the decade to alcohol related crime
Marijana
For decades marijuana has been labeled as a dangerous gateway drug that would harm teenagers. Adults fought for the legalization but the thought of marijuana frighten so many Americans. In 1970 the Controlled Substances Act lead to marijuana being illegal on a federal level
​
California became the first state to legalized medical cannabis, sparking a trend that spread to a majority of states by 2016. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first state to legalized cannabis for recreational use.
​
Between 2016 and 2018 eight states followed passing legislation that would legalize the use of medical and recreational marijuana. Despite these developments however marijuana is still constricted -by the federal government- to be illegal
​
​
​
​
Thesis
Can the ​socio-political, economic, and criminal​ effects of prohibition reflect many debates and policies that divide America today?
My thesis presented the question of whether or not prohibition could be a reflection of time now on a criminal, economic, and sociopolitical level. The idea of history repeating itself has been discussed before in history however the essay focused on a more specific time
Body Paragraphs
1. The first paragraph is the introduction, presenting some backstory on the history of my essay as well as presenting my thesis. My introduction like my essay focuses on Prohibition and the specific issues and events circulating it before relating it to time now
​
2. The second paragraph opens with more backstory on what lead to prohibition such as the temperance moment that began in the early 1800s and discussing how much of an issue certain groups saw it as especially with the immense levels of drinking which greatly exceed drinking today. I then relate the movements against alcohol to the moments in the 1970s against marijuana and how similar to prohibition the government backed them with prohibition against both alcohol and in the 1970s marijuana.
​
3. The third paragraph discusses the immense backlash that came following prohibition in the 1920s and the illegalization of marijuana now. It explains how americans turn to crime when the government prohibits something. Whether its crime family providing alcohol or people illegally growing and selling marijuana. It also discusses some of the legal backlash from prohibiting marijuana and states slowly starting to legalize it especially since major developments in 2016.
​
4. The fourth paragraph discusses a well known point of how the mob made money off of Prohibition though speakeasies and illegal transportation with further pushes the idea that prohibition was unsuccessful. I then relate it to the thousands of people who have been incarcerated for possession or distribution of marijuana. My main point being that demand creates supply whether or not that supply is ethical or legal
​
5. My final paragraph summarizes the points and arguments made in the essay as well as answering my historical question and thesis. I then discuss America and its citizens as a whole on legal standpoint and psychological one of how desperate people can be for something. I then end on somewhat of a dramatic note but concluding the essay.
​