Classic Photos That Change The Way We View History

Farewell to the 18^th Amendment, 1919

The 18^th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the making, selling, importing, and transporting of intoxicating liquors and was made legal on January 16^th, 1919. It resulted in what is popularly called the Prohibition – a campaign that believed that alcohol led to poverty and criminal activity. 

Much to their surprise, the United States’ crime rate soared during the Prohibition years as mobsters became rich from selling alcohol on the Black market. Prohibition ended on December 5^th, 1933 when the 21^st Amendment was established.