The Volstead Act was a piece of legislation passed in 1919, which enabled the United States government to enforce the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and enable the enforcement formally known as the National Prohibition Act. A member of Congress, and a leading republican of the House of Representatives, Andrew Volstead, was the one who successfully guided it through the legislative process. While the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, sale, and transport of intoxicating liquors, it did not define or provide penalties. The Volstead Act granted both the federal government and the states the power to enforce the ban by appropriate legislation.
Although the act was passed to stop the drinking of…show more content… Although the consumption of alcohol altered the state of mind, it became the norm in western society and most people thought nothing of it. Drugs like marijuana have been proven to be much less harmful to the body than alcohol, only having temporary affects, yet weed is as illegal as many other drugs are in many places. Although alcohol has no proven medicinal qualities, millions of Americans imbibe heartily. The vast majority of Americans drink at least once in a while. However, the price of alcohol is devastating on our society. Alcohol affects different people differently. Unfortunately, one of the defining characteristics of alcohol is its drowning of inhibitions which directly links the drug with often extreme violence. Alcohol is undoubtedly used as a tool of oppressing the lower class in America. Inner city areas with high concentrations of liquor stores have a disproportionate amount of homicides, rapes, robberies and assaults. In my opinion, alcohol is far more damaging to the body and yet it still remains legal. Alcohol is more damaging to the brain and body and is also very addicting, and is the only drug for most people to cause aggression. The government tried to make alcohol illegal but the people were used to having it and rioted. The same would happen now. But drugs have pretty much always been illegal, and when they were not, nobody knew about them. When prohibition came about it made the people feel almost as if they were opinion was not valued. It is almost insulting when you prohibit any certain thing from an adult with common sense. Drinking became an activity that was enjoyed during people’s free time and then it was stripped away almost as if it was a child who did not know any better. But the government can make tons of money off of the illegal transport