The repeal of Prohibition likely had a lot to do with the Great Depression. Following the Crash of 1929, people were discouraged and their spirits were low. Allowing the sale and consumption of alcohol not only gave people an escape from their problems, it provided a much-needed boost to the economy, as alcohol was an enormous industry before, after and even during Prohibition.
Tens of thousands of people died because of prohibition-related violence and drinking unregulated booze. The big experiment came to an end in 1933 when the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified by 36 of the 48 states. The Twenty-first Amendment was deemed so necessary (and the Eighteenth so ineffective), it is the only Constitutional amendment ever passed to overturn a previous amendment. Hence, Prohibition was a terrible mistake
