Great Gatsby, The: Prohibition

Prohibition (1920–1933) was a ban on the production, sale, and transporting of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It came about as a result of late-19th-century temperance movements and was an attempt to address some of the social ills in American society. However, Prohibition turned out to be difficult to enforce. And rather than addressing the roots of America's social problems, Prohibition made them worse by encouraging illegal activity and ushering in an era of organized crime and gang violence.

Temperance was a prominent issue in American reform movements throughout the nineteenth century, but it took on new urgency during the decade of the 1900s as part of the effort by the progressives to exert social control. Progressives blamed the "liquor trust" for promoting alcohol use and abuse and thus tied the growing crusade for Prohibition to the larger goal of curbing the influence of big business.

Historical newspaper from Chicago detailing unintended consequences of prohibition.