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N0KFQ > TODAY 02.03.13 18:19l 43 Lines 1807 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 36699_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 2
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<F1OYP<N9PMO<XE1FH<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 130302/1555Z 36699@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
...
Mar 2, 1929:
Congress passes the Jones Act
The Jones Act, the last gasp of the Prohibition, is passed by
Congress. Since 1920 when the Eighteenth Amendment went into
effect, the United States had banned the production, importation
and sale of alcoholic beverages. But the laws were ineffective at
actually stopping the consumption of alcohol. The Jones Act
strengthened the federal penalties for bootlegging. Of course,
within five years the country ended up rejecting Prohibition and
repealing the Eighteenth Amendment.
Prohibition was never particularly popular across the nation and
when the people slowly realized that it had other ramifications,
it rapidly fell by the wayside. The chief problem with
Prohibition is that it didn't stop the public's demand for
alcohol. Although consumption did drop in raw numbers, it
remained substantial. In order to fill this demand, an entire
criminal infrastructure was created virtually overnight.
The enormous amounts of money that were available in illegal
trafficking helped established organized crime. The nation's
major cities were dominated by criminal syndicates that could
afford to bribe officials throughout the criminal justice system.
This, in turn, produced a significant change in law enforcement.
For the first time, the federal government became a major player
in policing and prosecuting law breakers.
Many feel that Prohibition also caused a major breakdown in the
social fabric because of its effect on the national psyche. With
so many of the people brazenly ignoring the law, an atmosphere of
cynicism and hypocrisy was established. When the Eighteenth
Amendment was finally repealed, Prohibition was widely viewed as
a total failure.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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