Noah Vinter
On January 17, 1920, alcohol was banned in the US. This period, known as Prohibition, lasted 13 years, ending in December 1933. During this time, the illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, known as bootlegging, was rampant, and secret bars called speakeasies proliferated. Despite the ban, alcohol consumption did not decrease significantly, and the era was marked by unintended consequences, including a rise in organised crime and negative economic impacts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the Prohibition law | 18th Amendment, also known as the Volstead Act |
| Year the law was passed | 1919 |
| Year the law came into effect | 1920 |
| Year Prohibition ended | 1933 |
| Number of years alcohol was illegal in the US | 13 |
| Number of Volstead Act violation cases in the first six months of 1920 | 7,291 |
| Number of Volstead Act violation cases in 1921 | 29,114 |
| Average amount spent on alcoholic beverages per year by the average drinking American in 1919 | $17 |
| Average amount spent on alcoholic beverages per year by the average drinking American in 1930 | $35 |
| Average illegal untaxed income per year from the sale of alcohol | $3 billion |
| Average number of deaths per year from drinking tainted liquor during Prohibition | 1,000 |
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The Eighteenth Amendment
Alcohol was illegal in the US for 13 years, from 1920 to 1933. This period was known as Prohibition and was embodied in the US Constitution's Eighteenth Amendment.
The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, was passed to enforce and define the language of the amendment. It set the starting date for nationwide prohibition as January 17, 1920, and defined prohibited alcoholic beverages as those with 0.5% or more alcohol by volume. While Prohibition led to a decline in alcohol consumption, it also had unintended consequences, such as the rise of organised crime and the American Mafia. Criminals took advantage of the high demand for alcohol, leading to the proliferation of illegal bars, known as "speakeasies", and the illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, known as "bootlegging".
By the late 1920s, opposition to Prohibition emerged, criticising the policy for lowering tax revenue and imposing "rural" religious values on "urban" America. The Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, was passed on December 5, 1933, ending Prohibition and making the Eighteenth Amendment the only constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed.
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The Volstead Act
Alcohol was illegal in the US for 13 years, from 1920 to 1933. This period was known as Prohibition, and it was enforced by the Volstead Act.
The National Prohibition Act, or the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress that enforced the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. The act was named after Minnesota Rep. Andrew Volstead, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who championed the bill and prohibition. The bill was conceived and drafted by Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League, which had been formed in 1893 and eventually became a powerful political force in passing a national ban on alcoholic beverages.
While Prohibition banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol, it did not make private ownership or consumption illegal under federal law. Alcohol for medical and religious purposes remained legal under the Volstead Act. For example, pastors, priests, ministers, and rabbis could acquire a permit to provide alcohol for sacramental purposes.
Prohibition had many unintended consequences, including the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia. Criminal gangs took over the production, importation, and distribution of alcoholic beverages, leading to violent confrontations, including the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929. The high price of bootleg liquor also restricted the nation's working class and poor during Prohibition. Despite the efforts of Prohibition agents, many people found clever ways to evade them, such as carrying hip flasks, hollowed canes, and false books.
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Bootlegging
On January 17, 1920, the United States officially banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol with the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. However, alcohol consumption was still widespread during Prohibition, which lasted until 1933. The illegal manufacturing, distribution, and sale of liquor during this period, known as "bootlegging", was a lucrative and dangerous enterprise.
To circumvent the lack of imported alcohol, bootleggers began producing their own liquor. Grape farmers in California took advantage of a loophole in the Volstead Act, which allowed the production of certain wines for "non-intoxicating fruit juice for home consumption". They produced liquid and semi-solid grape concentrates, often called "wine bricks" or "wine blocks", which were sold with a "warning" to not let the liquid sit and turn into wine. By 1922, California vineyards were shipping so many grapes to the East Coast that railroad companies faced a shortage of refrigerated cars.
In addition to grape-based wine, bootleggers also experimented with other sources of alcohol. Industrial ethyl alcohol, which was denatured with additives to make it unpalatable or poisonous, was a common target for bootleggers. They hired chemists to successfully remove the additives and make the alcohol drinkable again. However, dangerous traces of toxic additives like wood alcohol could remain, leading to thousands of deaths from tainted alcohol during Prohibition.
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Speakeasies
The term "speakeasy" refers to the secret saloons and nightclubs that emerged during the Prohibition era in the United States. The exact origin of the term is unknown, but it may have come from prospective patrons having to whisper or "speak easy" through peepholes in doors to gain entry to these illegal establishments. Another possible origin is that the term comes from ""speak-softly shops", referencing the need for secrecy in illegal drinking establishments in England and Ireland in the 19th century. The term was also attributed to a saloon owner, Kate Hester, who ran an unlicensed bar in the 1880s and told her rowdy customers to "speak easy" to avoid attracting the attention of the authorities.
The demand for alcohol during Prohibition fuelled the rise of organised crime in America, with the most notorious example being the Chicago gangster Al Capone, who earned $60 million annually from bootlegging operations and speakeasies. Speakeasies also contributed to the rise of gang violence, such as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929, where several men dressed as policemen and believed to be associated with Capone killed a group of men in a rival gang.
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Organised crime
The Prohibition era in the United States, lasting from 1920 to 1933, saw the rise of organised crime and the American Mafia. The illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, known as "bootlegging", became widespread, along with the operation of speakeasies, or secret saloons and nightclubs that served alcohol. The high price of bootleg liquor meant that the nation's working class and poor were far more restricted during Prohibition than middle or upper-class Americans.
One of the most notorious examples of organised crime during Prohibition was the Chicago gangster Al Capone, who earned millions of dollars annually from bootleg operations and speakeasies. Capone's operations fuelled a corresponding rise in gang violence, including the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago in 1929, where several men dressed as policemen shot and killed a group of men in a rival gang.
The illegal alcohol industry during Prohibition had serious consequences for public health, as the trade in unregulated alcohol became more lucrative, the quality of alcohol on the black market declined. On average, 1,000 Americans died every year during Prohibition from consuming tainted liquor.
The unintended consequences of Prohibition also impacted the economy. The closing of breweries, distilleries, and saloons led to the elimination of thousands of jobs, and thousands more were lost in related industries such as barrel-making, trucking, and waiting. The illegal alcohol industry also resulted in a loss of tax revenue for the government, as alcohol taxes had previously provided a steady stream of cash into government coffers.
In addition, Prohibition had a significant impact on social life and entertainment. Restaurants failed as they could no longer make a profit without legal liquor sales, and theatre revenues declined as Americans looked for new ways to entertain themselves without alcohol. Overall, the initial economic effects of Prohibition were largely negative, and the law that was meant to foster temperance instead fostered intemperance and excess.
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Frequently asked questions
Alcohol was illegal in the US for 13 years, from 1920 to 1933.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, also known as Prohibition, banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. The Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the federal ban and defined alcoholic beverages that were prohibited.
Prohibition had many unintended consequences, including the rise of organized crime and the American Mafia, an increase in gang violence, and a decline in tax revenues. It also led to the proliferation of secret saloons and nightclubs called "speakeasies" and the illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, known as "bootlegging".
By the late 1920s, a new opposition to Prohibition emerged, attacking the policy for lowering tax revenues and imposing "rural" Protestant religious values on "urban" America. In the years leading up to and during the Great Depression, the economic impact of Prohibition came under scrutiny.
