Prohibition agents destroying perfectly good booze will make you cry

Destroying booze

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Chris Wild

1919-1933

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

On Jan. 16, 1920, after years of campaigning and controversy, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, outlawing the production, sale and transport of alcohol in the United States.Of course, legal prohibition did not end centuries of drinking. Underground distilleries and breweries spread across the country, and smuggling and bootlegging operations became lucrative businesses.With so much money to be made in defying a law which was widely ignored and disrespected, organized crime emerged in urban centers. Though federal Prohibition agents made a show of publicly dumping or destroying seized liquor, real enforcement was a losing battle.With criminal gangs gaining enormous wealth and influence through the liquor business, and state governments struggling with the loss of tax revenue, by the time the Great Depression struck, it was clear Prohibition had failed.On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing Prohibition. But it was too late for the millions of gallons of booze destroyed by the authorities.