Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • The Prohibition Era: A specific historical period in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, when the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were nationally banned by the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Usage

• The term "Prohibition Era" is always capitalized as it refers to a specific, named historical period.
• It functions as a singular noun phrase, typically used with the definite article "the."
• It is used to discuss the social, cultural, political, and economic conditions of that time.

Examples

• Noun:
  • Organized crime flourished during the Prohibition Era.
  • Speakeasies were secret bars that operated throughout the Prohibition Era.
  • The Prohibition Era ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment.

Advanced Usage

• "the Era of Prohibition": A less common but synonymous phrasing.
  • Fashion and music changed significantly during the Era of Prohibition.

Variants and Related Words

• Prohibition (noun, often capitalized): The general policy or law of forbidding alcohol. Can refer to the U.S. national ban (1920-1933) or other similar bans.
  • The policy of Prohibition was difficult to enforce.
• Prohibitionist (noun): A person who advocated for the prohibition of alcohol.
• Volstead Act (proper noun): The common name for the National Prohibition Act, the federal law that provided for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment.

Synonyms

• The Noble Experiment (a contemporary term used by some supporters of Prohibition).
• The Dry Years (an informal term).

Related Phrases

• The Roaring Twenties: A term for the 1920s that emphasizes the decade's vibrant, often clandestine, social and cultural life, which was heavily influenced by Prohibition.
• The Great Depression: The severe worldwide economic depression that began in 1929, during which the repeal of Prohibition was seen by many as a way to create jobs and revenue.

Noun

1. the period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States by a constitutional amendment