Prohibition

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In US history, the period 1920–33 when the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was in force, and the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol was illegal. This led to bootlegging (the illegal distribution of liquor, often illicitly distilled), to the financial advantage of organized crime.

The Eighteenth Amendment, ratified in 1919, was enforced by the Volstead Act of 1919. It represented the culmination of a long campaign by church and women's organizations, Populists (the Populist movement arose in the late 19th century as a protest by farmers against economic hardship), progressives, temperance societies, and the Anti-Saloon League, who believed that alcohol was a moral and social ill. Although Prohibition did greatly reduce overall alcohol consumption, the result was widespread disdain for the law. Speakeasies for illicit drinking sprang up, and organized crime activity increased, especially in Chicago and towns near the Canadian border, led by notorious gangsters such as Al Capone. Public opinion led to the repeal of the law in 1933 with the Twenty-First Amendment.

Black and white reflect the black and white communities and the harmony between them. Yellow represents the golden beaches. Blue stands for the sea. Effective date: 22 February 1979. >>