"Prohibition had a lot of unintended consequences which backfired on the people who worked so hard to establish the law,: said Lisa McGirr, whose 2015 book "The War on Alcohol" examines Prohibition's political and social repercussions.
"It helped to activate and enfranchise men and women who had not been a part of the political process earlier,: she said. "That was not the intention of the Prohibition supporters."
Ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919, which set the stage for Prohibition's launch a year later, culminated in a century of advocacy by the temperance movement. Leading forces included the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League and many Protestant denominations.
Prohibition supporters assailed the effect of booze on families and the prominent role that saloons played in immigrant communities.
Prohibition greatly expanded federal law enforcement powers and turned millions of Americans into scofflaws. It provided a new revenue stream for organized crime.
--Cooter
