<P> Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933 . </P> <P> During the nineteenth century, alcoholism, family violence, and saloon - based political corruption prompted activists, led by pietistic Protestants, to end the alcoholic beverage trade to cure the ill society and weaken the political opposition . One result was that many communities in the late - nineteenth and early - twentieth centuries introduced alcohol prohibition, with the subsequent enforcement in law becoming a hotly debated issue . Prohibition supporters, called "drys", presented it as a victory for public morals and health . </P>

What were the years of prohibition in the united states