Final answer:
Prohibition, the United States' ban on alcohol, lasted from 1920 to 1933, constituting a significant period in American history. Marked by widespread illegal activity and ineffective enforcement, it was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prohibition in the United States, a period often associated with the 1920s, was the total ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. It lasted for 13 years, from 1920 until 1933. The Eighteenth Amendment, ratified in 1919, marked the start of Prohibition, but its enforcement only began in January of 1920. Despite its intention to solve societal problems, Prohibition resulted in widespread illegal activity and organized crime, most notably demonstrated by gangsters like Al Capone, leading to the eventual repeal of the amendment by the Twenty-First Amendment on December 5, 1933.
The movement for Prohibition was driven by the Progressive era's ideals and various religious and social groups. These included the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League which pursued Prohibition fervently. These groups intertwined the concept of American patriotism with anti-alcohol sentiment, partly due to the anti-German mood during World War I. Ultimately, the impracticality of enforcing this law and public disillusionment led to the end of Prohibition.
Doctors and druggists were exempt from the ban, allowed to prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes, leading to a surge in 'medicinal' alcohol consumption. Furthermore, the Volstead Act, which was intended to enforce Prohibition, proved inadequate against the burgeoning black market and public demand for alcohol. The social impacts and legal consequences of Prohibition are still debated and studied as a unique chapter in American history.