While the Eighteenth Amendment, the federally mandated prohibition, was ratified on January 16, 1919; thirty-three states had already been enforcing their bans for a long time. Prohibition was so widely accepted because of the terrible effects it was having on the general population. Throughout the history of the United States, alcohol has had a place in everyday life. It was not uncommon for it to be consumed at every meal, and there were also drinking breaks very similar to the smoking breaks we have nowadays. (A Nation Of Drunkards. Prohibition: Roots of Prohibition. PBS, n.d. Web.) The incredible amount of alcohol abuse, especially by men, has devastated the home lives of many people; either from lack of income as it was spent on alcohol, or from domestic abuse. Anti-temperance groups such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union; who fought for women's rights as well as their dreams of a dry country, and the subsequent Anti-Saloon League endeavored to convince Congress to pass an amendment that would abolish the manufacture, distribution, and sale of all liquor . The ASL grew stronger and became a particularly powerful social and political influence, and the amendment was soon ratified. The idea was noble and right, but the ban had the opposite effect than intended. Rather than being the “great social and economic experiment” (The New Day; Herbert Hoover's campaign speeches) that it was intended to be, it increased crime rates and allowed the formation of crime syndicates that would earn millions from the illegal sale of liquor. through, smuggling; illegal alcohol production and rum trafficking; the smuggling into the United States of liquor that was produced legally elsewhere. Alcohol was banned from its production until it... middle of the paper... the last ban was disastrous and has been called for repeal." Alcohol Problems and Solutions. -- King of King County Bootleggers." HistoryLink. Np, November 13, 2002. Web.Meredith, William A. “Prohibition: The Great Experiment.” Prohibition: the great experiment. The University at Albany, April 29, 2005. Web November 21, 2013.Newsome, Eric. Pass the Bottle: Rum Tales of the West Coast Victoria, BC: Orca Book, 1995. Print" Roy Olmstead, n.d. Web. "18th and 21st Amendments." Nolo.com, n.d. Web December 10. 2013. .