The day Prohibition ended in the USA – level 1

It is 1900. A big number of people drink alcohol in the United States. Americans drink two bottles of hard alcohol a week.

Many people don’t like this drinking. They want to have Prohibition. Prohibition is a situation when people can’t sell alcohol.

Some states in the southern United States start to have Prohibition first. This idea is more and more popular. In 1920, all United States have Prohibition.

Some people are happy. But Prohibition doesn’t stop people from drinking alcohol. Some people want to drink. People open secret bars.

There are 100,000 secret bars in New York. Many people visit these bars. People make alcohol in secret factories. People also bring alcohol from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean islands.

Prohibition wants to stop alcoholism. But it isn’t happening. People continue to drink.

There are also bad effects of Prohibition. Some people die because they drink low-quality alcohol. Prohibition also helps criminal gangs to get more power. They get money because 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 possible again, there are big celebrations in America.

Difficult words: southern (from the south), secret (only for people who know about it), alcoholism (a situation when somebody drinks a lot of alcohol), illegal (against the law), government (the bosses in a country).

What do you think were the benefits and shortcomings of Prohibition?

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