The Prohibition Era
By: Tyler MacInnis & Grace Decker
The Eighteenth and Volstead Act
The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture; the transportation and selling of liquor or any other alcoholic drink in the United States and any areas under their rule. This became known as Prohibition and lasted for 13 years from 1920 to 1933. This was created in retaliation to the protests against alcohol.
The Volstead Act was created not long after the Eighteenth Amendment was passed when it was realized there was not enough federal agents to enforce the Amendment. The Volstead Act was passed by Congress to help provide the means to enforce the ban on alcohol. They didn't fund for any more than the token amount of enforcement which was not close to being enough, therefore the Volstead Act was created. It was written in 1919 by Andrew Volstead. The document stated that government officials could make investigations and arrests for people or places that they suspected to be abusing the Prohibition. It also stated that all medical alcohol was legal and that alcohol made from fruit or grapes prepared at home was legal or any alcohol needed for industrial purposes. While any other beverages with an alcohol content at or above a .5 was illegal. The problem with this act was that it contained too many loopholes and this made the act unreliable (Pbs.org). But because of this act and the raids on areas that were considered to be against the Prohibition the illegal brewing industries went underground and this also caused less support for Prohibition.
Picture URL: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/AndrewVolstead.jpg/220px-AndrewVolstead.jpg
Speakeasies, Bootlegging, Dry and Wet Counties, and Al Capone
Hidden bars would still sell alcohol to people. These bars were very hard to find and were kept very secretive. They became known as speakeasies because the only way to get in was by knowing a certain spoken password. Speakeasies were usually controlled by organized crime gangs because they could use the money to corrupt politicians and business leaders. (Speakeasy picture from: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/prohibition-pictures.htm). Many people realized that millions of dollars could be made by selling illegal alcohol to other people. They would then produce this alcohol in their own house giving it the name “bathtub gin”. People who did this were known as bootleggers and this practice was known as bootlegging.
The man who controlled these practices in Chicago was a man named Al Capone. Al Capone was the famous mobster in the 1920’s who got his power from the Prohibition movement. This means that he brewed and sold alcohol to the citizens, while charging large sums of money. With all the money he got from the illegal alcohol he was able to control the police and local government, for example the mayor. He also controlled "gambling houses, nightclubs, and bookie joints"(Chicagohs.org). He stayed in business because he used other people do his dirty work, therefore if they got caught they would get in trouble and Al Capone would stay clean. He murdered many, many people who stood in his way, some of his murders were considered massacres for example the Valentines Day Massacre. This is another way he stayed in power. In Al Capone’s Chicago fear and men with guns ruled the city. People were afraid to go out or say the wrong thing in front of the wrong people. This all ended when Al Capone was finally caught because of tax evasion.
Also during this time period the nation was greatly divided into two parties; those who opposed Prohibition or those who supported it. Two terms were coined, the term “dry” referring to people who supported the Prohibition movement and the term “wet” referring to people who did not support Prohibition, or in other words supported alcohol (Appleby, Oldman, Brinkley, McPherson 717). Dry and wet counties refer to whether areas were for or against Prohibition. Most counties in the Midwest were “dry” while most cities were “wet”, so, more in the Northern counties (Appleby, Oldman, Brinkley, McPherson 717).
The Culture of Prohibition
Twenty First Amendment
After 13 years Americans realized that Prohibition or the “noble experiment” was a failure and would not work in their society. This led to it being repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-first Amendment. The twenty-first amendment says that “the transportation or importation into any State, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquor, in violation of laws thereof, is prohibited.