Around the end of the nineteenth century, the United States of America were not in a good economic position. To digest the grief, many sought comfort in the bottle, and that logically resulted in sick leave and accidents, causing the economy to fall even further.
Because of this, a group financially sponsored by the evangelical Protestant churches, created the so-called "ASL" which stands for "Anti Saloon League". This club of moral knights actually managed to get enough breeding ground for a ban on alcohol, which led to the official launch on 18 December 1917 of an amendment to the prohibition by the American senate. It was approved on January 16, 1919, making it no longer pleasant to be in The States from January 17, 1920. The president of America at that time was Mr. Woodrow Wilson and he liked a glass of alcohol. He used his veto to get the overall alcohol ban off the job, but that was overruled by the US Congress. And so finally the "Volstead act", named after the author of this new law, Andrew Volstead, came into being.
Poor Americans, they already had so little to look forward to and now they were deprived of that last bit of pleasure. The law stipulated that the reclamation must be enforced by all governments, both local and national. This was not happening everywhere and New Jersey in particular was unable to enforce it, and in New York this law was even completely repealed in 1923.
But as so often happens when something is forbidden, there were people who tried to reap the benefits of it during these though times. One of the best known is perhaps Al Capone, a though criminal from Chicago. By illegally producing and distributing alcohol, he soon made a multi-million dollars business. He controlled the area between Chicago and New York completely and paid his fellow gangsters so well that they could fill their wallets well. Politicians and police were frequently bribed and those who were not susceptible to it were simply liquidated.
It was recognized in 1925 that the ban on alcohol did not have the desired effect because the law was simply not enforced and the tolerance policy was very flexible. So there became votes to nullify the law. When Franklin D. Roosevelt stood for election in 1932, one of his spearheads of his election program was the abolition of the Volstead Act. In the same year, our friend Capone had to search for a different roof above his head and stayed in the Atlanta prison until he was transferred to the notorious Alcatraz a year later. When Roosevelt finally became the president of America, he kept his word, which finally ended the prohibition on December 5, 1933.
And to inform the anti-alcohol lobbyists: draining not only has a positive effect. Yes, although the healthcare costs for the sick are going down, on the other hand there is no excise income. And, also a so-called "gray economy" is starting up from illegal practices. Forbidden things simply always attract a certain part of the world population that does not want to live by the law and try to abuse and get better from it; thus, illegal trade and uncontrolled use. And what to think about the so-called home hobbyists? Due to the lack of knowledge and the dangers of alcohol production, many have already lost their lives through their own brew.
In the United States of America today there are still about two hundred counties who want to ban alcohol in one way or another. For example, in some counties alcohol may not be sold on Sundays (have a nice weekend) or you can only buy it in state-controlled state shops. In Kentucky, the state where American whiskey is invented, many still think that alcohol is immoral and something "devilish”...
Roel Peters RP-Vinos USA
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