1. The Volstead Act of 1919: This law provided for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment, which had been ratified in 1919 and prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. The Volstead Act contained several loopholes, however, and many people continued to drink alcohol illegally.
2. The rise of organized crime: Prohibition led to the rise of organized crime in the United States. Criminal gangs, such as Al Capone's Chicago Outfit, made huge profits by smuggling and selling alcohol. These gangs often engaged in violent warfare with each other, and Prohibition-related violence reached epidemic proportions in some cities.
3. The Great Depression: The stock market crash of 1929 plunged the United States into the Great Depression, a period of widespread economic hardship. The Depression severely weakened the enforcement of Prohibition, and public opinion began to turn against the law. Many people argued that Prohibition was exacerbating the Depression by causing widespread unemployment and crime.
4. The repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment: The ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933 repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and put an end to Prohibition. The Twenty-first Amendment still allowed states to regulate the sale of alcohol, but it removed the federal ban on alcohol.