Mason Delacroix
During the Prohibition era in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were banned. Despite this, people who brewed alcohol and smuggled it into cities or bars, known as bootleggers, continued to operate. Speakeasies, or illicit bars, also emerged, selling alcoholic beverages and often sourcing their liquor from bootleggers. These establishments became a major part of American culture during the Prohibition era, with people from all races and social classes gathering together in them.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Bootleggers, Rum-runners, Moonshiners |
| Illegal Activity | Selling alcohol during Prohibition |
| Alcohol Sold | Whiskey, Gin, "Smoke", "Bathtub Gin", "Moonshine", Wine |
| Price | $4-5 per bottle, $12 per gallon |
| Establishments | Speakeasies, Blind Pigs, Blind Tigers, Beer Flats |
| Locations | Backrooms, Basements, Apartments, Farms, Hills, Forests |
| Customers | Working-class, Middle-class, Men, Women |
| Impact | Rise in organized crime, Rise in gang crimes, Corruption in law enforcement |
| End of Prohibition | 1933, with the Twenty-first Amendment |
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What You'll Learn
- Bootleggers: Criminals who smuggled alcohol, sometimes distilling their own
- Speakeasies: Secret bars that sold alcohol, often with passwords for entry
- Moonshiners: Bootleggers who made and sold moonshine, a type of homemade liquor
- Blind pigs/tigers: Nicknames for speakeasies, which sold alcohol without a license
- Law enforcement: Police officers were often bribed by speakeasy owners to turn a blind eye
Bootleggers: Criminals who smuggled alcohol, sometimes distilling their own
During the Prohibition era in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were banned. Despite this, many people still wanted to consume alcohol, and a black market emerged, comprising bootleggers, speakeasies, and distilling operations.
Bootleggers were criminals who smuggled alcohol, sometimes distilling their own. They modified their cars and trucks with enhanced engines and suspensions to outrun law enforcement agents, and these vehicles became known as "moonshine runners" or "'shine runners". Bootleggers sourced alcohol from various places, including foreign liquor smuggled into the country, medicinal" whiskey sold across drugstore counters, and homemade liquor.
In the early years of Prohibition, people distilled their own liquor at home, and bootleggers would supply the necessary equipment and ingredients. The Genna brothers gang, for example, provided one-gallon copper "alky cookers" or stills to hundreds of needy people in Chicago, along with corn sugar and yeast. The gang would then buy back the pure alcohol produced, paying $15 per day (about $188 in 2016) for each gallon. Similarly, in New York, gangster Frankie Yale paid Italian-Americans $15 per day to run alky cookers in Brooklyn.
As time went on, bootleggers began bottling their own liquor. Commercial stills in New York could produce 50 to 100 gallons of liquor per day, selling each gallon for $3 to $12. By 1930, the U.S. government estimated that the smuggling of foreign-made liquor into the country was a $3 billion industry ($41 billion in 2016).
Bootleg liquor was often of poor quality, leading to the creation of cocktails or "pansies" to mask the taste with various mixers, including ginger ale, Coca-Cola, sugar, mint, lemon, and fruit juices. These mixed drinks became an enduring part of American culture, even after Prohibition ended.
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Speakeasies: Secret bars that sold alcohol, often with passwords for entry
During the Prohibition era in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were banned. However, this did not stop people from drinking, and a black market emerged, comprising bootleggers, speakeasies, and distilling operations.
Speakeasies, also called "beer flats", "blind pigs", or "blind tigers", were illicit bars that sold alcoholic beverages. The term "speakeasy" is said to come from the practice of speaking quietly about such establishments in public or when inside them, so as not to alert the police or neighbours. The term was also attributed to a saloon owner, Kate Hester, who supposedly told her rowdy customers to "speak easy" to avoid attracting attention from the authorities.
Speakeasies were often secret bars located in the back rooms of seemingly legitimate businesses. They ranged from fancy clubs with jazz bands and dance floors to dingy basements and rooms inside apartments. These illicit bars multiplied during Prohibition, especially in urban areas, and became a major part of American culture in the 1920s. They were often run by organised crime groups, and some were operated by people who were part of organised crime, such as Al Capone of Chicago.
Speakeasies typically obtained their alcohol from bootleggers, who smuggled or distilled alcohol. The quality of the alcohol sold in speakeasies varied, and to hide the taste of poorly distilled liquor, speakeasies offered mixed drinks or cocktails, combining alcohol with ginger ale, Coca-Cola, sugar, mint, lemon, fruit juices, and other flavourings. The poor quality of bootleg liquor led to a shift from classic cocktails, which celebrated the raw taste of liquor, to new cocktails aimed at masking the taste of rough moonshine.
To gain entry to a speakeasy, one might need to speak a password in a low voice to avoid being overheard by law enforcement. Speakeasies were often "ill-kept secrets", and owners would bribe low-paid police officers to look the other way or tip them off about planned raids. Despite raids and arrests, speakeasies continued to flourish during Prohibition, as the profits were substantial.
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Moonshiners: Bootleggers who made and sold moonshine, a type of homemade liquor
During the Prohibition era in the United States, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, the production, importation, sale, and transportation of alcohol were illegal. However, this didn't stop people from consuming alcohol, and it led to the emergence of a thriving black market for alcoholic beverages, including moonshine, a type of homemade liquor.
Moonshiners and Bootleggers
Moonshiners were the people who made and sold moonshine, a type of homemade liquor that was often produced and distributed illegally. The term "moonshine" originated in the 18th century in the British Isles and became commonly used in the United States after the Tariff of 1791, which outlawed unregistered distilleries. The word is derived from the practice of distilling alcohol under the cover of night to avoid detection.
Bootleggers were the illegal sellers and smugglers of alcohol during Prohibition. They supplied private bars, known as speakeasies, and also sold alcohol directly to consumers. Some bootleggers were former police officers or veterans who used their skills and knowledge to evade law enforcement. They modified their cars to increase speed and load-carrying capacity, enhancing their engines and suspensions to outrun law enforcement agents.
Methods of Moonshine Production
Moonshine was typically distilled in remote areas, such as farms, hills, and forests, making it challenging for Prohibition Bureau agents to enforce the law. Moonshiners used various ingredients to produce their liquor, including corn sugar, fruit, beets, and even potato peels. The distillation process could be dangerous, and contaminated moonshine was responsible for cases of arsenic poisoning and other health issues.
Cultural Impact
Moonshine held a significant cultural significance, particularly in the South. For many Southerners, moonshine represented a cultural heritage of toughness and rebelliousness, sticking it to the federal government's regulation of alcohol. The consumption of moonshine became a way to defy the government's imposition on their way of life, and it continued even after Prohibition ended.
Enforcement Challenges
Enforcing Prohibition proved difficult due to the widespread demand for alcohol and the ingenuity of moonshiners and bootleggers. The public was incentivized to turn in bootleggers, and rewards were offered for directing the police to stills, which were then destroyed. Despite these efforts, the illegal alcohol industry thrived, and the prevalence of speakeasies and gang violence increased.
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Blind pigs/tigers: Nicknames for speakeasies, which sold alcohol without a license
During the Prohibition era in the United States (1920–1933), the production, importation, sale, and transport of alcohol were illegal. However, this did not stop people from consuming alcohol, and many turned to unlicensed establishments called "speakeasies" to get their fix. Speakeasies were illegal bars that sold alcohol without a license and became a major part of American social life during Prohibition.
Among the various nicknames given to these illicit establishments were "blind pigs" and "blind tigers". The term "blind pig" originated in the 19th century and referred to low-end places where people could obtain illegal alcohol. The term "blind tiger" also emerged in the 19th century and referred to illegal drinking establishments where the seller's identity was concealed. These places would often sell tickets to see an attraction, such as an unusual animal, and then provide a complimentary drink, circumventing any laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol.
The terms "blind pig" and "blind tiger" were often used interchangeably, and establishments with these names were typically small and secretive. They were usually operated by local business owners in rural towns and were often kept secret even after Prohibition ended. The quality of alcohol sold in these places varied, ranging from very poor to very good, depending on the owner's source. Low-quality alcohol, or "bathtub gin," was often altered and diluted to increase profits, leading to the creation of new cocktails aimed at masking the taste of inferior liquor.
Speakeasies, blind pigs, and blind tigers played a significant role in American culture during Prohibition. They were places where people of different economic and racial backgrounds could come together and enjoy food, entertainment, and, of course, illegal alcohol. These establishments also contributed to the rise of organized crime in America, with gangs vying for control of the lucrative liquor trade. While Prohibition ended in 1933, the impact of these illicit bars on American society and culture lasted well beyond that.
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Law enforcement: Police officers were often bribed by speakeasy owners to turn a blind eye
During the Prohibition era in the United States, from 1920 to 1933, the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages were prohibited. The Eighteenth Amendment, which enabled Prohibition, was ratified on January 16, 1919, and came into effect on January 17, 1920.
The era saw the rise of "speakeasies", or "blind pigs" and "gin joints", which were private, unlicensed barrooms. Speakeasies were generally ill-kept secrets, and their owners would often bribe police officers to turn a blind eye to their operations. Low-paid police officers were enticed with payoffs, drinks, or tips about planned raids by federal Prohibition agents. Police would also tip off speakeasy owners about impending raids, allowing them to hide or dispose of evidence, such as liquor, before agents arrived. This corruption extended beyond individual police officers, with some police chiefs, sheriffs, and detectives also accepting bribes from bootleggers and rum-runners.
The prevalence of bribery and corruption during Prohibition was due in part to the relatively low wages earned by law enforcement officers. The sums of money exchanged during the Prohibition era proved a corrupting influence, with police officers and Prohibition agents frequently tempted by bribes or the opportunity to enter the lucrative bootlegging business themselves. The widespread corruption of public officials became a national scandal, with the New York Times reporting on several cases.
The failure to effectively enforce Prohibition had far-reaching consequences. The illegal liquor trade created by Prohibition enriched criminals and led to the growth of organized crime in cities like New York. The illegal liquor trade also made criminals of millions of ordinary Americans, and the judicial system struggled to keep up with the influx of cases. The failure of Prohibition to curb alcohol consumption and the widespread corruption it enabled contributed to a decline in public trust in law enforcement.
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Frequently asked questions
People who sold alcohol during Prohibition were called bootleggers.
Bootleggers were people who smuggled alcohol into the country or distilled their own. They sold alcohol to speakeasies or individual customers.
Speakeasies were illicit establishments that sold alcoholic beverages. They were also called beer flats, blind pigs, or blind tigers.
Bootleggers sold alcohol known as "bathtub gin" in northern cities and moonshine in rural areas.
