The laws included in the 18th Amendment were enforced by special police forces trained to handle alcohol operations. The effectiveness of the raids on warehouse, arrests, and other tactics were severely lacking. Problems meant to be solved by Prohibition only worsened. Along with the illegalization of alcohol came an almost exponential climb in crime rates. There was a 78% increase in murder rates and in the first year of Prohibition alone the rates of murder and burglary increased 21%.

Organized crime blossomed during Prohibition. Mafia organizations based their business around the distribution of alcohol. The most notorious Prohibition-Era mobster was Al Capone. Capone led the trafficking of alcohol in Chicago and other areas of the U.S. He took advantage of America’s need for alcohol to gain profits. This so-called business was the leading cause of the crime wave that swept across America in the Thirties.

The 21st Amendment would solve the problem of crime and would ultimately better the lives of Americans and society as a whole. Rather than outlawing alcohol, it would be legalized and controlled by the government. Profits from the alcohol industry would go into the hands of American workers rather than mob bosses and gun-toting criminals.

The 21st Amendment was the first and only ratification of the United States Constitution. The three sections repeal the 18th Amendment and leave alcohol consumption, distribution, and transportation to be controlled by state legislatures.

The outcomes and consequences of the 21st Amendment are all positive. Although a counterculture that could possibly damage America’s youth surrounded alcohol consumption, it was unavoidable. Prohibition only heightened the problems meant to be solved and did not deter anyone from drinking. The 21st Amendment lessened crime in the U.S. and at the same time allowed American’s to squeeze a little more joy and fun out of life!