Many Arguments but Few Reasons Against Prohibition
The article I found was from World and Way and was published on September 6, 1928. The article was titled “Many arguments but Few Reasons Against Prohibition.” The eighteenth amendment became part of the constitution by one of the largest majorities ever seen. 46 out of 48 states had ratified this amendment. New York State was seen by some as a supply base for illegal liquor because there was no law against the manufacture, sale, or possession, or transportation of liquor. New York was said to be a bootlegger’s paradise. The main argument of this article was that prohibition was being an economic necessity for the United States. Henry Ford said that he knows from experience that the country is better off with prohibition after taking surveys from times before and during prohibition that showed night and day results. World and Way talks about how since the passage of prohibition, no other country has been materially prospering as much as the United States. This article is certainly seen as pro-prohibition and pro-American. The article titled, “A century ago: Prohibition in Missouri” has some of the same views as the article I analyzed from World and Way. The article tells how “Kansas City became known as a “wide-open” 24-hour town fueled by bootlegged hooch provided by Al Capone.” Kansas City Missourians continued to drink similarly to those in New York (https://www.visitmo.com/articles/a-century-ago-prohibition-in-missouri/). Both articles parallel to each other in that they discuss how drunkenness was a threat to the nation in the 20th century. On the contrary, the article from World and Way seemed to be pro-prohibition unlike the article “How World War II Saved American Beer Brewing.” This article discusses how a hatred of all things German quickly swept across the country (https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/how-world-war-ii-saved-american-beer-brewing). Germans loved their liquor so prohibition can be seen as trying to take away a part of German lifestyle. The article from World and Way stated that prohibition was an economic necessity. This article would contradict that since it was more of an anti-prohibition article where one can see that German American breweries and made a great profit and benefited from selling liquor.
