What is Prohibition in the United States?
{{unsourced|date=March 2013}} [[File:Orange County Sheriff's deputies dumping illegal booze, Santa Ana, 3-31-1932.jpg|thumb|Sheriff's deputies dumping illegal alcohol in [[Orange County, California]], in [[1932]].]] The '''Prohibition Era''' was a period in [[United States history]] when [[alcohol]] was outlawed. [[Police]] would [[arrest]] anyone who was found making or selling alcohol illegally. The Women's Christian Temperance Union and other [[reformist]] organizations agitated for this change in order to improve the lives of the people. Prohibition lasted from 1920 to 1933. It was established by the [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]]. It was ratified (approved by the states) by January 16, 1919. It came into effect at January 16, 1920. The punishment for being caught with an alcoholic beverage was jail time. The millions of people becoming criminals in such a short period of time led to overflowing prisons and it was common to have a case dismissed. Prohibition was a constitutional experiment set up by the American government in an effort to decrease crime rates, reduce tax burden, and improve health in Americans. It had little to do with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition was good as the consumption of alcohol was reduced, but it was bad in that the [[Mafia]] and other underground organizations took up [[rum-running]]. They became big and powerful and made trouble. Prohibition was repealed December 5, 1933 by the [[Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution|Twenty-first Amendment]]. Now states can regulate the selling of liquor by themselves. They used speakeasies to hide the illegal alcohol. Due to the demand of alcohol, illegal pubs were built called speakeasies.These could be in the form of a proper pub or just in someones basement. [[Category:1920 establishments in the United States]] [[Category:1933 disestablishments]] [[Category:1920s in the United States]] [[Category:1930s in the United States]] [[Category:Alcohol drinking habits]] [[Cat