Prohibition Repeal and the Roaring Twenties

Prohibition/Repeal and the Roaring Twenties

Prohibition and the Roaring Twenties

According to the films, how did prohibition come about, what was it trying to accomplish and why?

The concept of alcoholism never stood at ease with many factions throughout the industrialized world. Even in Europe, the thought of alcohol related to drunken brawls and non-covert prostitution. The United States was no different, and by the 1840s to the roaring twenties, alcohol had become one of the major enemies of religious and political groups. The period of Prohibition came about not as a sudden concept that must be faced, but as a political platform for many groups; among these groups include large Protestant factions and women's temperance and suffrage groups.

But banning alcohol was certainly not the all-encompassing goal of Prohibition. Far from it, many of the political factions used alcohol as a stepping ground in chasing the influx of European immigrants away from the country. Societal issues -- industrialization, urbanization, and immigration -- contributed to the idea of nativism, which focused on the needs of citizens as opposed to the "new" immigrants. For anyone looking at the social disorganization within the cities during this time period, one could see that banning alcohol was only a stepping stone for those who thought that their lands were being overrun with large amounts of immigrants.

2. How did social conditions described in the film correspond with material discussed in the Chicago School (chapter 4)? What do all these events mean for the development of certain law enforcement activities or certain crime policies in the U.S. At this time?

As was mentioned, there was a rapid influx of immigrants entering the country, those of whom have left their own homes behind in order to find opportunity abroad. Many of these immigrants were unskilled workers, and had migrated to cities, where there would be plenty of work. Unfortunately, this influx was also the precursor for industrialization, where cities no longer needed the unskilled laborers for employment. A rapidly growing city with rapidly dwindling job prospects would prove to be a driving force in crime rates and other social problems.

The methodologies in the Chicago School reflected these findings when professors and students took a closer look at the patterns found within cities and the crime organizations within said cities. By the 1920s, Chicago had doubled its population, and the social disorganization within the city became evident. This social disorganization would undoubtedly lead to many methodologies and patterns within the Chicago School. Crime policies and studies emerged through the observation of patterns and households, with a particular interest in the economic status, ethnic groups, migrant citizens, and disruption within families.

3. What features of this period of time do you think parallel events in the country today? Why?