kids encyclopedia robot

Prohibition Era facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
5 Prohibition Disposal(9)
Police removing illegal alcohol during Prohibition.

The Prohibition Era was a time in American history when making, selling, and transporting alcohol was against the law. This period lasted from 1920 to 1933. Police officers would stop people who were caught breaking these rules.

Many groups, like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, worked hard to make alcohol illegal. They believed it would solve many problems in society. This ban on alcohol became law through the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. States approved this amendment on January 16, 1919. The law officially started one year later, on January 16, 1920.

Prohibition had some good effects, like reducing how much alcohol people drank. However, it also led to new problems. Criminal groups, like the Mafia, started making and selling alcohol secretly. This illegal business, called "rum-running," made these groups very powerful and caused more trouble.

Eventually, people realized Prohibition wasn't working as planned. So, on December 5, 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment ended Prohibition. After that, each state could decide its own rules about selling alcohol.

Images for kids

  • Detroit police prohibition

    Detroit police in a clandestine brewery during the Prohibition era

  • WeinWeibUGesang

    "Who does not love wine, wife and song, will be a fool his whole life long!" (Wer nicht liebt Wein, Weib & Gesang / Bleibt ein Narr sein Leben lang.)

  • Indiana Goes Dry 1917

    Governor James P. Goodrich signs the Indiana Prohibition Act, 1917

  • 19190117 Prohibition - Eighteenth Amendment - The New York Times

    After the 36th state adopted the amendment on January 16, 1919, the U.S. Secretary of State had to issue a formal proclamation declaring its ratification. Implementing and enforcement bills had to be presented to Congress and state legislatures, to be enacted before the amendment's effective date one year later.

  • Policeman and wrecked car and cases of moonshine

    A policeman with wrecked automobile and confiscated moonshine, 1922

  • 5 Prohibition Disposal(9) (cropped)

    Removal of liquor during Prohibition

  • Prohibition prescription front

    A Prohibition-era prescription used by U.S. physicians to prescribe liquor as medicine

  • Rehoboth WCTU Fountain (Sussex County, Delaware)

    A temperance fountain erected by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union during the Prohibition era in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

  • Raceland Louisiana Beer Drinkers Russell Lee

    Men and women drinking beer at a bar in Raceland, Louisiana, September 1938. Pre-Prohibition saloons were mostly male establishments; post-Prohibition bars catered to both males and females.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Ley seca en los Estados Unidos para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Prohibition Era Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.