THE PROHIBITION ERA
Prohibition in the United States was the nationwide ban on the production, sale, importation, and transportation (but not consumption) of all alcoholic beverages. The banning of alcohol went into effect under the instructions of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution on January 17, 1920. The supporting movement of Prohibition, the dry movement, consisted mostly of progressive groups such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti- Saloon League. The supporters of the dry movement felt that drinking alcohol was a sin and the root of many problems during those times while the opposition to Prohibition (wets) thought the ban on alcohol was mostly an invasion of religious beliefs. And in 1920, the Volstead act was passed to enforce the new law. It established a Prohibition Bureau in the Treasury Department that had the responsibility of an impossible job; To search anything and everything that might involve illegal alcohol.
Speakeasies
Most people did not agree with Prohibition so they grew a strong disrespect towards authority. This disrespect for the law brought on the rise speakeasies, bootleggers and organized crime. Speakeasies were hidden establishments that sold alcohol illegally. These speakeasies could be found in attics, basements and even in office buildings. They were called "speakeasies" because people had to speak quietly or "easy" to avoid detection. By the end of the 1920s, there were more than 32,000 speakeasies in New York.
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Bootleggers
Instead of going to a speakeasy, people could also get alcohol from bootleggers. Bootleggers were people who smuggled alcohol into the United States from other countries. They usually carried the alcohol in the legs of their boots, hence the name bootleggers. People also learned to distill their own alcohol while the sales of sacramental wine grew due to the fact that alcohol for religious purposes were not banned.
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Organized Crime
Prohibition was intended to contain crime in the U.S. Despite these efforts, Prohibition actually had the complete opposite effect. Giant empires of organized crime ruled the city through illegal activities such as bootlegging. The most notorious gangster during this time period was Al Capone. Al Capone headed a criminal empire in Chicago. He was known for killing other bootleggers in order to take control of the whole Chicago liquor business.
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