2.
Once the amendment ratified it affected people who worked in the industry tremendously. Saloons were forced to close and not sell alcohol and the manufacturing of intoxicating liquor was forbidden. The closing of the saloons and manufacturers started the increased business for bootleggers, crime bosses, rumrunners, and underground saloons. This was the first time in American business history that a sizable industry faced true extinction, without any real significant financial compensation, because of a reform movement. Honest jobs were taken away such as bottling, packaging, and delivering of beverages. This eliminated many good jobs. Not only did people of the industry loose money during this time, so did the government. The government was not able to collect any revenue for the liquor sales done by bootleggers and organized crime groups. This was a loss of millions of dollars for them as well.3.
Many people, mainly the Anti-Saloon League and Woman's Christian Temperance Union, felt that the laws of prohibition would lower crime rates and reduce the number of drunken people in the streets and crimes related to drinking. Individuals in favor of prohibition felt that sobering up the nation could reduce the burden of taxes caused by prisons and poorhouses. They thought they could turn the prisons into factories to provide more jobs that in turn would help the economy. This did not necessarily happen. In researching the history of crime during this period of time, it has been found that before the Prohibition movement serious crimes were decreasing. In the 1920's, there was a 78 percent increase in the homicide rate being compared to the pre-Prohibition period. During the early years of Prohibition, the prisons instead of decreasing the number of people in prison it actually was a time where the prisons reached capacity. Irving Fisher, however, felt that this was just an exaggeration.
