Here's a good idea, let's make mobsters rich and powerful.

Governments are slow to learn that legislating morality is a chancy business, and the narrow minded don't learn that lesson at all.

If you want good roads leading out of your town vote it wet and the surrounding towns will fix up your roads. - Will Rogers

When, oh when, will we ever learn that you can't legislate morality? The Temperance Movement was with us since the dawn of this nation's history, but really gathered steam during the early part of the 20th Century, as more and more Catholic (and Jewish, although they weren't as culturally identified with drinking) immigrants entered the country. An increasingly feverish xenophobia began to take hold, and led to such events as the Palmer Raids, rampant anti-German (especially during World War I) and anti-Italian prejudice, crack-downs on "anarchists" (the Sacco and Vanzetti debacle was a tragic result of this) and other "anti-American types", and prohibition. Prohibition...which led, of course, to the empowerment of organized crime, the wholesale corruption of politicians, law enforcement, and Coast Guard personnel, an overall lessening of respect for Government and the law...led to everything, in fact, except a lessening in the American thirst for and consumption of alcohol. As Will Rogers once said, "Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in 5 years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth."

Clearly we learned nothing from that war on that drug. . .

Prohibition=War on Drugs.  Two bad ideas separated by 50 years.

I'm happy that there are people who don't drink at all,particularly when I'm driving;but with this,I'm for some moderate sense of "vice'.

bad idea surely. but with not as many bad consequences like contracts, wars, ideologies. crime and mafia didnt need the prohibition to be founded. the list here seems to compare pretty different subjects.

Since people will find a way to drink,come hell or high water-passing laws against it only made Gangsters Rich and diverted police from protecting citizens from real crime.How many people died in shootouts that were totally un-necessary? Meanwhile,bootleggers made millions of dollars.

Didn't seem to work well. They weren't called the Roaring 20's for nothing.

Bad Idea. (hiccup)

Although it probably was well-intnetioned by those who enacted it, it was a dumb idea, as events proved. It turned out to be pretty much of a farce. In a certain sense, it seems to have boosted alcoholic consumption because of the element of excitement and danger involved with finding a speakeasy, knowing where to go to evade the law, etc. Amusingly, Prohibition was responsible (at least according to a couple of accounts I've read and seen on TV) for the huge rise in popularity of Italian restaurants. Apparently, you could get wine in Italian restaurants without any problem, so people got their alcohol that way, and got exposed and accustomed to Italian food as well. How's that for serendipity?

This was the start of the mafia and organized crime. How can anyone in this enlightened time possibly think this was a good idea?

Prohibition actually decreased public drunkenness, but of course that was only a temporary drop in the early 1920's after the Volstead Act was put into effect. Afterwards it became a complete farce. Organized crime and other groups took advantage of the pent up demand in alcohol. You can't force down someone's throat a certain version of morality. Alcohol isn't necessarily bad when consumed in moderate amounts. Really what it comes down is free choice. As long as you don't do harm to other people, you should be free to do whatever you want. Prohibition didn't work because alcohol consumption wasn't the evil that its proponents claimed it to be. Of course, common sense laws against public drunkenness and DUI are necessary, but banning alcohol isn't going to stop these actions.

Prohibition spawned Al Capone.

Another characteristic invention of the Land of the Free. Legislation of morality has always been popular here--the impulse that created Prohibition is alive and well in the U.S. It's a shame you can't legislate against ignorance and stupidity.

Come again? No, seriously, this needs to come back again. Alcohol is nothing but trouble, and it should be illegal again. And, with all of our advanced technologies today, this could actually work! (This item is rated low because I don't think its a bad idea.)

Though a civilized society has to have laws in place concerning rape, murder and thievery I don't think you can really legislate most other types of morality. It always seems to come down to personal choice. In the long run that makes the most sense. I think that's the main reason God granted us free will...so the results would be honest.

A bad idea that did not work obviously. I am glad they repealed it.

(5=bad) Not only did the idea fail miserably, but it gave birth to Organized Crime. (Saw a great special on it on the History Channel, though I think it dealt mostly with moonshiners).