Prohibition: Congress voting share on 18th Amendment in the USA 1917

From 1920 until 1933, there was a nationwide, constitutional ban on the production, distribution and sale of alcohol in the United States (consumption, however, was not illegal). After a significant Prohibition movement that had lasted for almost a century, the US government voted on the issue in 1917. The results show that the topic was not a partisan issue, as Republicans and Democrats voted very similarly in the Senate, and almost identically in the House of Representatives (additionally, the candidates in the 1916 Presidential election made no mention of prohibition, to avoid alienating any voters). The topic had split the country for decades, however the impact of the First World War swung the momentum in favor of the 'drys', and Prohibition took effect in 1922.Alcohol and US politicsAlthough the sale and consumption of alcohol had been a contentious issue throughout US history, the prohibition movement did not gain notable momentum and political influence (including the formation of a political party) until the nineteenth century. The movement itself was spearheaded by the conservative WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) elite, who believed that alcohol was having an immoral and corrupting influence on American society and politics. They also believed that, at local levels, politicians were undermining the structure and status quo of US society, by frequenting bars and saloons that were popular with migrants, in order to buy their support. This practice had become a US tradition; for two centuries, politicians had been providing alcohol at polling stations on election days in order to maximize voter turnout. One famous example of this was when George Washington spent his entire 1758 election budget of fifty pounds on liquor, which he distributed for free to 391 voters (Washington won with 310 out of 794 votes).WWI brings changeThe Prohibition Party (the US' oldest existing third party) eventually achieved their goal of illegalizing the sale of alcohol during the First World War. The majority of German-Americans were against Prohibition, and the 'drys' used anti-German sentiment during wartime to turn the rest of America against the 'wets', along with the argument that crops would better serve the war effort. The 18th Amendment was ratified in January 1919, and came into effect one year later. Prohibition's legacy is one of crime, violence and death. It opened opportunities for criminals (such as Al Capone) to create international crime empires. In addition to this, those who could not afford bootlegged alcohol often resorted to drinking treated, industrial alcohol, which proved to be fatal for thousands of US citizens (the US government also poisoned industrial alcohol as a preventative measure, contributing to the death toll). Prohibition was originally intended to save lives, but eventually took the lives of thousands through gang warfare and poisoning.

自1920年至1933年，美国全国范围内实行了一项宪法禁止，禁止生产、分销和销售酒精（然而，消费并未被定为非法）。在持续了近一个世纪的禁酒运动后，美国政府于1917年对此议题进行了投票。结果显示，此议题并非党派之争，因为在参议院中，共和党和民主党投票方式极为相似，在众议院中则几乎一致（此外，1916年总统选举的候选人未提及禁酒议题，以避免疏远任何选民）。数十年来，该议题分裂了国家，然而第一次世界大战的影响使得禁酒派获得了势头，禁酒令于1922年生效。尽管酒精销售和消费在美国历史上一直是争议性问题，但禁酒运动直到19世纪才获得显著的动力和政治影响力（包括形成一个新的政党）。该运动由保守的盎格鲁-撒克逊新教（WASP）精英领导，他们认为酒精对美国社会和政治产生了不道德和腐蚀性的影响。他们还认为，在地方层面，政治家们通过光顾受移民欢迎的酒吧和酒馆来获取他们的支持，从而破坏了美国社会结构和现状。这一做法已成为美国传统；两个世纪以来，政治家们在选举日向投票站提供酒精，以最大化选民投票率。一个著名的例子是，乔治·华盛顿在1758年的选举预算中花费了五十英镑购买酒水，并将其免费分发给391名选民（华盛顿以310票对794票的投票结果获胜）。第一次世界大战带来了变革，禁酒党（美国现存最古老的第三党）最终在第一次世界大战期间实现了非法化酒精销售的目标。大多数德国裔美国人反对禁酒，禁酒派利用战争时期的反德情绪，将美国其他地区对禁酒派的反对转化为对支持者“湿派”的反对，并提出了农作物将更好地服务于战争努力的论点。第十八条修正案于1919年1月获得批准，并在一年后生效。禁酒的遗留下来的问题是犯罪、暴力和死亡。它为罪犯（如阿尔·卡彭）创造了国际犯罪帝国的机会。此外，那些买不起非法酒水的人常常求助于饮用经过处理的工业酒精，这对成千上万的美国公民来说是有害的（美国政府还采取预防措施，毒化了工业酒精，从而导致了死亡人数的增加）。禁酒的初衷是拯救生命，但最终却以帮派战争和中毒导致数千人死亡的悲剧告终。