"The Noble Experiment": Prohibition & Its Failure
- Rosie Jayde Uyola
- Mar 2
- 4 min read
Target: I can explain why Prohibition failed in the 1920s by comparing the goals of the 18th Amendment to the reality of organized crime.
Key Vocabulary
Prohibition (1920–1933): The period in U.S. history when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol was illegal.
18th Amendment: The change to the Constitution that created Prohibition. It was passed by the "Temperance Movement" which believed alcohol caused poverty and violence.
Bootleggers: People who illegally made, transported, or sold alcohol (smugglers).
Speakeasies: Illegal, secret bars where people went to drink during Prohibition.
Organized Crime: Criminal gangs (the Mafia) that formed to control the illegal alcohol business, leading to violence in cities.
Part 1: Do Now (5 minutes)
Directions: Read the prompt below and write a 5-8 sentence response.
Prompt: Imagine the school principal decided that "sugar is bad for you" and completely banned all candy, soda, and energy drinks. Security guards now search bags for Snickers bars. Do you think students would actually stop eating sugar? Or would a "black market" start? How would students get the candy, and who would get rich selling it? |
Sentence Starter: If the school banned sugar, I think students would... A "black market" would start because... The people who would get rich are the ones who...
Part 2: Analyzing the Sources
Directions: Analyze the two documents below and then answer the questions that follow.
Source 1: The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (1919)
Context: This is the actual text of the law that banned alcohol. It was intended to make America safer, healthier, and more moral.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." | "Section 1. One year after this law is passed, the making, selling, or moving of alcohol (intoxicating liquors) inside the United States is officially banned (prohibited). You also cannot bring alcohol into the country or send it out." |
Source 2: Al Capone, Interview with a Journalist (1929)
Context: Al Capone was the most famous gangster in Chicago. He made millions of dollars illegally selling alcohol (bootlegging) and used violence to kill his competition.
Original Text | Simplified Text |
"I make my money by supplying a public demand. If I break the law, my customers, who are some of the best people in Chicago, are as guilty as I am. The only difference between us is that I sell and they buy. Everybody calls me a racketeer. I call myself a businessman. When I sell liquor, it’s bootlegging. When my patrons serve it on a silver tray on Lake Shore Drive, it’s hospitality." | "I make my money by giving the public what they want. If I am breaking the law, then my customers (who are rich and important people) are just as guilty as I am. The only difference is I sell it and they buy it. People call me a criminal. I call myself a businessman. When I sell alcohol, they call it 'bootlegging.' But when my rich customers serve it at their fancy parties, they call it 'hospitality.'" |
Analysis Questions
Directions: Answer the writing questions and the two Multiple Choice questions.
1. According to Source 1, what specific actions were banned by the 18th Amendment? (Did it ban drinking alcohol, or just selling/moving it?)
Sentence Starter: The 18th Amendment banned the "manufacture, sale, and..." of alcohol. Interestingly, it did not explicitly ban...
2. In Source 2, how does Al Capone justify his crimes? Why does he call himself a "businessman" instead of a criminal?
Sentence Starter: Al Capone justifies his crimes by saying he is just "supplying a..." He argues that if he is a criminal, then his customers are...
Regents-Style Multiple Choice
3. The "Noble Experiment" of Prohibition (1920–1933) was finally ended by the 21st Amendment because:
(1) The United States needed alcohol taxes to pay for World War II
(2) Religious groups no longer opposed the consumption of alcohol
(3) The law was impossible to enforce and led to a rise in organized crime
(4) Factory owners wanted workers to drink more to increase productivity
4. Based on Source 2, which statement best describes a major consequence of Prohibition?
(1) Americans completely stopped drinking alcohol.
(2) Respect for the law increased among all social classes.
(3) Disrespect for the law grew, and criminals like Al Capone became wealthy/powerful.
(4) The economy collapsed because of the ban on grain sales.
Part 3: Exit Ticket (5 minutes)
Directions: Answer the following prompt in a complete paragraph (5-8 sentences).
Prompt: Using evidence from both sources, explain why Prohibition failed. How did the 18th Amendment (Source 1) accidentally create the success of gangsters like Al Capone (Source 2)? |
Sentence Starter: Prohibition failed because you cannot stop people from wanting something just by passing a law. The 18th Amendment (Source 1) banned the... but it did not stop the "public demand." As Al Capone explains in Source 2, he became a "businessman" by... This shows that instead of stopping drinking, the law simply moved the business to...
