Film Analysis Of The Movie : The Untouchables

The 1920s was a time of major social change in the United States. The social changes during this period were reflected in the laws and regulations that were brought into play at this time. One of the most prominent examples of this was prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution, also known as the Volsted Act, which got its name from its sponsor, Representative Andrew Volsted of Minnesota, was created to eliminate the use of alcohol in the United States. In doing this, the proponents of prohibition hoped to end the social problems associated with alcohol, such as domestic abuse. "It was an attempt to promote Protestant middle-class culture as a means of imposing order on a disorderly world"(Dumenil, 1995). However, this goal of keeping peace by not consuming alcohol, was not reached during the years of prohibition, or the years following it. Alcohol consumed by Americans did decline, but it was not totally eliminated as hoped, and some of the social problems seemed to be even greater than before prohibition was in effect. Therefore, prohibition was not successful in its original purpose. To better understand the reasons behind the failure of prohibition, one must have to look at the years before, during, and after prohibition. This will give a better understanding to the implementation of the 18th Amendment as well as show the trends of Americans' alcohol use and the effects of alcohol on American society.

In 1919, The US ratified the 18th Amendment which is declared illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcoholic beverages. Between from 1920 to 1933 America has promulgated prohibition who drunk because most men drunk in most times even during break time off work. They gradually lost their control and taking abuse, crime on their children. A lot of problems happened in the family like violence, fighting, and the worse thing is the divorce. Drunken men who did not work at all would not be able to afford, provide, and care for their families. America repealed Prohibition for three main reasons during this time: the Volstead Act because it was a law, the act of Congress that helped to prevent people from selling alcohol, illegal but it failed, Progressive Movement because it showed how many serious problems happened behind drinking that affected to life, and social evils of drinking. While there are three main causes, the most significant cause the repeal of Prohibition in America was social evils or consequences of drinking because in (Doc. B) homicides increased which made crime raised and thousands of Americans killed, the scenes of the US government (Doc.D) because the governor violated the law, and depression (Doc. A) because Uncle Sam, the US government worked with gangsters, racketeer, bootlegger, and dope seller.

Prohibition was the eighteenth amendment. It prohibited the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. People would have never thought of "excoriating" alcohol until the 19th century (Tyrrell 16). During this time widespread crime and dismay arose. Some beneficial things did come out of this period of chaos such as women were able to prove themselves as people their temperance movements. During this time many things happened that led to Prohibition's strongest point and to its fall. Prohibition proved to be a failure from the start,. Prohibition was scarcely adhered to and also widely defied but out of this women had a chance to voice their opinions and prove themselves.

The Prohibition Era was a period of time when the entire nation was expected to be alcohol-free, or “dry”. In January 1919, prohibitionists achieved the ratification of the eighteenth amendment to the constitution, “forbidding the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors.” The activists in the Temperance Movement had lobbied and pushed for this ratification for decades. Temperance activists consisted of women, church members, and employers. The main concern was centered around the idea that liquor made alcoholics and irresponsible people. The widespread support for the liquor ban was reflected in its approval by more

The Eighteenth Amendment made alcohol illegal. However, this amendment was not being forced. So congress put out a law, called the Volstead Act, to allow law enforcement to use force to enforce the eighteenth amendment.

The word "Prohibition" as stated in the World Book encyclopaedia "refers to laws that are designed to prevent the drinking of alcoholic beverages." The enforcement of the Volstead Act in the United States of America (USA) saw the nationwide beginning of the prohibition on the 16th of January 1920. The Prohibition brought about a change in attitude for the people of the United States (USA). It caused an extreme rise in crime; encouraging everyday people to break the law and increased the amount of liquor that was consumed nationwide. Overall this law was a failure because a law can not be enforced on a democratic society with out the support of a majority. The effect of this mistake (prohibition) lingered on American (USA) society for many

Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, repealing prohibition. The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 16, 1919. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933.

The Volstead Act was passed along with the Prohibition Act and further abolished liquor which did the exact opposite, intensify the degree of criminality. Sinclair claims that “Although no one was forbidden to buy or drink intoxicating liquor, the Volstead Act, passed by Congress to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment, tried to prevent the illegal trade in liquor” (Sinclair). The Volstead Act also known as the National Prohibition Act promoted the banishment of alcohol trade which was the spring of their finances. This act eventually failed because people were utterly against this prohibition of alcohol and engaged in illegal criminal activity. BBC stated that “It was difficult to enforce the Volstead Act. As gangsters started selling alcohol,

In the 1920s, the 18th Amendment banned a person's right to manufacture and purchase liquor. Banning the transportation, manufacture,and sale of intoxicating beverages was known as prohibition, the most fought over law of the 1920’s. Prohibition was firmly backed by the government and the women in the United States that were also being abused. Important groups of

The 18th amendment, known as prohibition, had America in fits when it was ratified in 1919. The government was hoping to achieve a healthier, efficient society with good morals and a break for women from receiving beatings from drunken husbands. Although the motives behind prohibition were reasonable, it was so corrupted from the beginning that it never could have successfully been carried out. America became a lawless period, and many Americans felt that if they could get away with ignoring one law, then they did not have to follow any others (Axelrod 239). However, it may have been necessary for the progression of America for it accomplished a great many other feats other than sobering up citizens. Women fought actively for

The Volstead Act was a demonstration to boycott inebriating drinks, and afterward to manage the assembling, generation, use, and offer of high-proof spirits for other than refreshment purposes, and to protect an abundant supply of liquor and advance its utilization in experimental exploration and in the improvement of fuel, color, and other legal commercial enterprises. The issue was that the Volstead Act didn 't particularly specify the genuine drinking or utilization of liquor, and forbid the buy of liquor. The deals for restorative liquor went up 400% amid the forbiddance. A large portion of the provisos in the eighteenth amendment were in the Volstead Act (inside the eighteenth amendment. The Volstead Act didn 't particularly

Political corruption plagued the divisions of the government more than it ever had after the Volstead Act was enacted. The Volstead Act ratified the 18th Amendment on January 19th, 1919, banning the consumption of many forms of alcohol. The idea that alcohol was not illegal influenced many people to abstain from drinking, however, those more devious formulated ways creative way to bypass the amendment and exploit loopholes within the amendment, creating a vast illegal market for liquor. In his article The Man Who Turned Off the Taps, Daniel Okrent writes about the methods of Wayne Bidwell Wheeler, the man who drove forward the Volstead Act and pushed tirelessly for the 18th Amendment. Although Okrent writes about corruption within the Bureau of Prohibition, he does not mention how greatly corrupted the Bureau of Prohibition was and how widespread corruption was in other authoritative forces.

The Volstead Act of 1919 to 1933 was an act passed by the U.S Congress which specified that any beverage with an alcohol content of more than 1 half of 1 percent was considered an intoxicating substance (Lecture Topic 3). This act was significant as it defined and implemented the 18th amendment, also created by the U.S Congress, which made the manufacturing, selling or transportation of intoxicating liquors illegal. This was the official beginning of alcohol prohibition in the United States and the Volstead Act made the definition of an intoxicating beverage very narrow, so that an intoxicating substance could easily be detected. However, there were some exceptions to this act. It allowed for the use of alcohol, more specifically wine, during

With this also came the Volstead act. Also known as the National Prohibition Act, this was mainly made by a republican representative from Minnesota, named Andrew J. Volstead. The reason behind it was to carry out the 18th amendment’s purpose. The documentary mentions on January 16th, 1920, the night the amendment was passed, William Jennings Bryant gave a speech at the first congressional church in Washington D.C. This was for the leaders of the prohibition movement and supporters to celebrate. It was stated, “No man living will ever see a congress, that will less in the enforcement of that law, the saloon is as dead as slavery” (Josephus Daniels). It was thought the signing of a paper would end all problems, but wasn’t the

Suspense and Tension in Brian De Palma's film The Untouchables During the 1920's many people were unemployed because of the poor economic conditions in America and to make it worse, were drinking to make their lives more tolerable. The government decided to ban the sale and drinking of alcohol, this was period was called 'The Prohibition'. People continued to want to drink and this lead people to go to illegal bars or "speakeasies" which sprang up all over America. Gangsters such as Al Capone and others saw this as an opportunity to make money by transporting and supplying alcohol to the them.. As a result they became so wealthy and well organised that during the 1930's a special police unit was