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Prohibition

 

Ratified on January 16, 1919 and taking effect on January 17, 1920, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.  Celebrated by many as the triumph of reformist principles, Prohibition exposed significant tensions within American society, pitting “drys,” who defended the goals of Prohibition and insisted upon enforcement of the law, against “wets,” who opposed the law and violated it in a variety of ways.  Many believed that Prohibition encouraged the growth of criminal activity.  Elmira, which had become dry in 1918, experienced its own share of these conflicts.  While the local police force tried to enforce the laws, the wets of Elmira had many tactics for evading their efforts.

 

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