Prohibition in the 1920s

Anti-intoxication NationProhibition in the 1920s

Definition of ProhibitionProhibition of alcohol is banning the making, movement and sale of alcoholSpanned for as much as 48 years in PEIQuebec never passed prohibition legislation Prohibition in CanadaProvinceYear StartedYear EndedPEI19001948NS19101930ON19161927MB19161923AB19161924NB19171927SK19171925YK19171920BC19171921QCNo ProhibitionCanadian Laws on LiquorCanadian laws on liquor split the responsibilities between the federal and provincial governmentsThe Federal government controlled:The manufacturing of alcoholThe importation of alcoholThe exporting of alcoholProvincial governments controlled:Drinking ageSales of alcoholConsumption of alcohol

Problems with DrunksMany men would waste their pay checks on alcoholDrunkenness also led to crime and unsafe drivingMany people felt that the grain used to make alcohol should have been sent to the soldiers in the trenches

The Temperance MovementThe temperance movement arose in the early 20th centuryIts aim was to ban alcohol because they thought it was responsible for many of societys problemsReligious groups and many women who had just received the right to vote formed temperance groups

Aims of Prohibition

Prohibition aimed to:Lower crime rates Lessen instances of child and wife abuseCause men to become better providersAssist the war effortEarly Success

Prohibition had a promising start:Alcohol consumption lowered by 80%Crime rates decreasedFewer cases of abuseMen provided for their families, took less days off work

The Downfall of DrynessSoon arose:MoonshineBootleggersSpeakeasies/Blind PigsOrganised crime led to rich criminals and poorer provincesLost freedom

Famous Bootleggers: Al CaponeMost famous bootlegger everBoss of Chicago OutfitSeen in Moose Jaw, Sask. from time to timeI dont even know what street Canada is onConvicted for tax evasion: 11 years in Alcatraz

Famous Bootleggers: Bronfman Brothers

Two Jewish immigrants form Montreal saw opportunity in the U.S. prohibition in 1924Smuggled liquor into the U.S. and became rich under the alias Mr. NortonFour years later they owned the largest distillery in the world

Famous Bootleggers: SS Im AloneCanadian rum-running ship, built in BritainSmuggling liquor form Belize to LouisianaSank by US Coast Guard, pursued from 321 km

What we learnedWe learned that when legislating the prohibition of alcohol, without enormous enforcement, its effectiveness becomes very limited over time.

EffectivenessTimeDry towns in CanadaGovenlock, Saskatchewan, now a ghost townOld Crow, Yukon is a dry Gwichin community on the Porcupine RiverThe city of Owen Sound, Ontario continued to outlaw liquor well into the 1970sSteinbach, Manitoba did not allow the sale of liquor within city limits until 2011 Verdun, Quebec only recently ended a 45-year ban on bars and taverns in the community, in December 2010Picture Citations http://www.prairieghosts.com/capone6.jpg (Joel)http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TFRk-MtsMew/S88DZ_R_DlI/AAAAAAAAAvc/99ETZIb0u_Q/s1600/3c23257v.jpg (Aaren)http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ja10/timeline/history-canada-us-border-smuggling.html (Joel)http://old-photos.blogspot.ca/2008/09/temperance-movement.html (Aaren)http://www.gcsehistory.org.uk/modernworld/usa/prohibitionandgangsters.htm (Aaren)http://pendletonpanther.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/bringing-home-the-bacon/ (Aaren)http://thegreatjaygatsby.blogspot.ca/2010/05/1920s-gangsters.html (Joel)Info CitationsCanada: Face of a Nation, Textbook (Aaren and Joel)http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/ja10/timeline/history-canada-us-border-smuggling.html (Joel)http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/prohibition (Aaren)http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/temperance-movement (Aaren)

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