1920–1933Reputable sourceWell documented
American Prohibition
On the timeline · around 1920–1933 ·
What happened
In 1920 the United States banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol under the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act. Rather than ending drinking, Prohibition fueled bootlegging, speakeasies and organized crime, and was repealed in 1933.
Why it matters
Prohibition became the most famous cautionary tale in drug policy — proof of how hard it is to ban a substance woven into a whole society.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica. Prohibition (United States history, 1920–1933) · Reputable source