From 1920 to 1933, alcohol was banned in the United States of America. This period of time, also called Prohibition, should not have happened because alcohol was not a very huge problem; it did not help the economy, and it was not complied with anyway.

Alcohol abuse had always been an issue; as long as there is drinking, there will be drunkards. The amount of work, time, and money poured into keeping liquor out of the U.S. could have been put to use aiding the homeless, rebuilding roads, or helping charity programs. Gangs and violence were a larger problem at the time as well as economic issues in 1929.

Banning alcohol, while it may have put some wives’ minds at rest, did nothing to aid the economy. In fact, gangsters profited largely by selling illegal alcohol. When alcohol was banned, those who worked in factories lost their jobs. When the money normally made selling liquor (then, about $500 million annually) vanished from the market, the government was impacted by the loss.

However many dollars the government put into it, alcohol never truly disappeared. Bootleggers ran the coastlines and sold imported liquors. Gangs smuggled it, as well, raking in a tidy sum. People created homemade wines; moonshiners drove drinks to customers in other areas in cars that they enhanced so they would have a greater chance of getting away from the authorities. Some will always go to great lengths to break the law. Prohibition was no different.

If alcohol hadn’t been banned, think about how much better Budweiser or Sam Adams would be if there had been another 10 years to work on the formulas.