Famous Days for Students of English

05-12-1933

A big number of people drink alcohol in the United States in the late 19th century. Americans drink nearly two bottles of hard alcohol a week. Many people don’t like so much alcohol consumption and they want to introduce Prohibition, which is a ban on selling alcohol.

Some states in the southern United States begin to introduce Prohibition first. This idea gets more support and in 1920, the government introduces Prohibition at the national level.

However, that doesn’t stop people from drinking alcohol. What is banned becomes popular. Secret bars are opened.

There are 100,000 of these bars in New York alone. Many people visit these bars. They are workers, rich people, and also politicians who voted for Prohibition. Alcohol begins to be made secretly and is also transported illegally from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands.

Prohibition wanted to change people and eliminate alcoholism. But that isn’t happening. People continue drinking.

There are also bad effects of Prohibition. Some people die because they drink low-quality homemade alcohol. Prohibition also helps criminal gangs to get more power because they get money when they sell or make illegal alcohol.

After 13 years of Prohibition, the government stops Prohibition. It happens on December 5, 1933. When the selling of alcohol is allowed again, there are big celebrations all over America.

Difficult words: consumption (when you drink or eat something), introduce (to make something new active), ban (an official order to stop something), national (across the country), however (but), vote (to put up your hand or write on a paper to show what you chose), eliminate (to make something stop and go away), allow (to let somebody do something).