The temperance movement, which sought to restrict or ban the consumption of alcoholic beverages, had a long history in the United States. The first temperance organization was formed in 1808, and many states had outlawed alcohol before the Eighteenth Amendment nationalized its prohibition. But with the onset of the Progressive Era, Americans seemed more confident in the ability of constitutional amendments to reform human behavior. When the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified in 1919, many Americans believed that crime, poverty, and broken homes would be outlawed along with alcohol.