To end public drunkenness and the American social standard of alcohol consumption, the United States government implemented alcohol prohibition. Lisa McGirr, a history professor at Harvard University and a specialist in 20th-century US history, recently published a book with a chapter referring to alcohol prohibition in the United States. His research claims that the 18th Amendment on alcohol was an attack on both the American working class and immigrants. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay While reading "Bootleg, Moonshine, and Home Brew" Lisa McGirr referenced several documents, statistics, and statements made during the Prohibition era. Lisa continually uses the riots of Polish citizens and the working class and the evident disapproval in Chicago during this period as her main demographic. One of the most compromising facts that Lisa McGirr points to is the hard working hours and increased workload during the war for these Americans. McGirr references throughout his writings that the passage of the Volstead Law allowed the wealthy to store alcohol that had previously been stored in the pre-Prohibition era, something that the poor and common citizen would not have had the means to Do. Passage of the Volstead Act would further solidify the growing social and political divide between the working class and the elite, leading the working class to adopt a new slogan of "no beer, no jobs". Lisa McGirr's chapter on Prohibition helps show the negative image Americans created about immigrants, which ultimately lead to a shift in ethnic support for the Democratic Party. Lisa McGirr, vaguely at times, referred to Chicago's immigrant suburbs with little mention of other densely populated areas of the United States. McGirr continues to reference women's support against the anti-alcohol movement. Women's support for prohibition may be directly related to alcohol involvement and PTSD. Alcohol worked as a temporary tranquilizer for men returning home from World War I. However, during this time there were no professional diagnoses for PTSD, this left many men untreated and, ultimately, forgotten. This disturbingly reckless process led to men returning from wars and creating a new life in the bars. This flawed system created a demographic of women who supported Prohibition to save their shattered families that had been created by what doctors of the time called bomb shock. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay “Bootleg, Moonshine, and Home Brew” is a perfectly written article about demographic changes and the impact of Prohibition on the industrialized cities of America during the Prohibition era. However, it is sometimes difficult to believe that the statistics and facts presented represent the remainder of the growing rural and suburban population of the early 20th century. With the new accessibility of the automobile that would create an easily accessible route for bootlegs, moonshine and home brew to be transported and delivered anywhere in the continental United States.
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