Back in 1919 - exactly 100 years ago - 36 states had finished ratifying the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution.  The 18th Amendment forbid most of the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol (with an exception made for communion wine).

The "temperance movement" (later leading to Prohibition) actually began back about the 1890s with Christian women (and others) pushing for this in localities across the USA.  Stories of men spending all their money in saloons or the other evils that accompany drunkenness became prominent in the newspapers.  The movement grew and states began to severely restrict alcohol sales.  And it became a national movement.

Catholics and Lutherans were generally against the legislation, as personal moderation was considered the key.  But most other Protestants were strongly in favor of the new laws.

Thus by 1919, all across the USA well-meaning citizens (many were Christians) had signed petitions and passed laws to make alcohol consumption illegal in these United States.  The "National Prohibition (Volstead) Act" then took effect in January of 1920.
 

    LEGISLATING MORALITY

Every government has an interest in legislating norms and morality.  Surely contracts need to be honored.  There are proper times and places for private human behavior.  Making laws and deciding penalties for violating societal norms is a proper use of government down through time.

For example, in modern India (a mostly Hindu country) cows are commonly considered sacred and are protected by law.  Most modern Muslim countries outlaw alcohol production and sales, except in limited circumstances.

In American history we do have a moralistic Puritanical streak that began at our founding back in the 1620s with the early colonies.  This still affects our society, though many openly rebel against such standards.
 

    UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

The early automobiles had a profound effect on American society.  Cars and streetcars connected cities and let folks move more freely in urban areas.  New York had their new subway system in place to flow between the five boroughs.  Making alcohol illegal had the unintended consequence of hiding it, raising the price and putting organized crime in charge.  It quickly became a huge cash business.

You may have lived in Chicago, but with a car you could easily get to the municipality of Cicero (just southwest of Chicago) where Al Capone had quickly begun capitalizing on the new Prohibition laws.  When alcohol became illegal its price jumped up, and many people still wanted to drink anyway!

Speakeasys began to spring up in cities all over the country.  A regular business was up front.  But there was a door one could knock on to gain secret entrance to the back.  (It is estimated that New York City alone had over 30,000 speakeasys by the mid-1920s.)

Rather than fully forbid the sale of alcohol - the effect of Prohibition was to drive it underground.  It did drop alcohol consumption in half nationwide, but it also made the product unlicensed, unregulated, untaxed, and it enriched the bootleggers who smuggled it in from Canada or who made limited batches of "bathtub gin" for sale in the speakeasys.  Some gangsters became millionaires.

By the end of the 1920s there was a growing anti-prohibition movement.  Prohibition had caused too many unintended consequences.  In December of 1933 the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution fully repealed the (1919) 18th Amendment which had put Prohibition into place.
 

    PROHIBITION LESSONS FOR TODAY

Sin.  In this life people have their (and our) vices.  We are all imperfect.  "None are righteous, no not one."  If we push too hard to regulate human behavior it can cause other problems.

Last month "The VIP" published my article:  "Idealism vs. Pragmatism."  Folks, we need to compromise.  As we seek to help improve our society with conservative standards we need to be careful to not be too extreme as this may cause unintended consequences.  It could even cause a strong backlash against the very values that we are trying to protect.

Let us try to learn from the strict laws of prohibition and let folks have their freedoms.  I really believe that we need to seek to be pragmatic, even if it violates some of our ideals.  Our society is divided along many lines but we should be able to reach a general consensus on right and wrong.