Bootlegging And Speakeasies: Breaking Prohibition Laws

The Prohibition era in the United States, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, saw a nationwide ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Despite the new legislation, many Americans continued to consume alcohol, leading to the emergence of illegal drinking dens, known as speakeasies, and the proliferation of bootlegging and organised crime. Here's how people broke the laws of Prohibition:

- Speakeasies: Illegal drinking establishments, often hidden in secret locations, became popular during Prohibition. These establishments served alcoholic beverages, which were typically obtained through illegal means such as bootlegging or moonshining.

- Bootlegging: The illegal production, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages became a lucrative business for criminals during Prohibition. Bootleggers would smuggle, distribute, and sell alcohol, often through speakeasies or other underground networks.

- Moonshining: Illegal home distillation of alcoholic beverages, also known as moonshining, became common during Prohibition. Individuals would set up makeshift stills to produce their own liquor, which was often of inferior quality and could be dangerous to consume.

- Smuggling: With neighbouring countries like Canada and Mexico remaining wet, or defiantly opposed to Prohibition, smugglers would bring alcohol across the borders, using various concealment methods and secret routes to evade authorities.

- Corruption: Law enforcement officials, including police officers, Prohibition agents, judges, and politicians, were often susceptible to bribery or even became involved in bootlegging themselves, taking advantage of the lucrative illegal alcohol trade.

- Creative Concealment: People found creative ways to conceal their alcohol, such as using hollow walking sticks, fake books, lamps, or even canes to hide flasks or bottles.

- Prescription Alcohol: Pharmacists were allowed to dispense whiskey by prescription for various ailments, and bootleggers took advantage of this loophole by running pharmacies as fronts for their illegal alcohol operations.

- Religious Exemptions: Religious exemptions allowed the use of wine for sacramental purposes, leading to an increase in self-professed rabbis and synagogue enrolments as people took advantage of this loophole to obtain wine for personal consumption.

Bootlegging

Prevalence and Organisation

Profits and Economics

The illegal liquor trade was extremely profitable, with Al Capone earning a staggering $60 million per year from his bootlegging operations and speakeasies. The high prices of bootleg liquor meant that the working class and poor were restricted during Prohibition, while middle and upper-class Americans could still afford alcohol. The illegal alcohol industry resulted in a loss of tax revenue for the government, which previously relied heavily on excise taxes from liquor sales.

Enforcement Challenges

Enforcing Prohibition was challenging due to the cat-and-mouse nature of bootlegging operations. Federal agents and local police forces struggled to keep up with the illegal activities, and corruption was also an issue, with some law enforcement officers tempted by bribes or the opportunity to join the bootlegging business themselves.

Impact on Crime

Public Perception

Public opinion of Prohibition and bootlegging was mixed. While some saw it as a necessary social reform to address alcohol-related issues, others viewed it as an infringement on personal liberty and a failure due to the continued availability of alcohol through illegal means.

Techniques and Fronts

Bootleggers used various techniques to evade the law, such as running pharmacies as fronts for their operations since pharmacists were allowed to dispense whiskey by prescription. They also took advantage of religious exemptions, as Americans were permitted to obtain wine for religious purposes, leading to an increase in self-professed rabbis. Additionally, bootleggers utilised home stills and took advantage of unclear laws regarding wine production at home.

In summary, bootlegging was a prevalent and profitable practice during Prohibition, contributing to the rise of criminal activity and presenting significant challenges for law enforcement. It highlighted the difficulties in enforcing a nationwide ban on alcohol and ultimately played a role in shaping public opinion towards the eventual repeal of Prohibition.

Speakeasies

The proliferation of speakeasies during Prohibition had a significant impact on American social life. For the first time, men and women socialised together in these establishments, marking a shift away from the traditional saloon culture that had previously been dominated by men. Speakeasies also contributed to the rise of jazz music and the emergence of new cocktails, as bartenders attempted to mask the taste of poor-quality bootleg liquor.

In addition to their social impact, speakeasies also played a significant role in the growth of organised crime during Prohibition. Criminal gangs, such as that led by Al Capone in Chicago, earned enormous profits from supplying alcohol to speakeasies and often controlled these establishments. Despite efforts by law enforcement to raid and shut down speakeasies, they continued to flourish due to their profitability and the willingness of many people to turn a blind eye to their illegal activities.

Moonshine

In the United States, moonshine originated in Pennsylvania after the newly formed federal government enacted a tax on distilled spirits in 1791. Many small producers, such as farmers in western Pennsylvania, protested the tax, as they often used whiskey as currency to pay for goods and services. This led to the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794, the first major test of federal authority for the young government.

During the Prohibition era, moonshine production increased to meet the high demand for alcohol. Moonshiners cut corners, which led to a drop in quality that sometimes harmed drinkers. For example, shoddy distillation processes could leave methanol in the liquor, which could cause blindness or death. In addition, organized crime syndicates sought to control the production and sale of moonshine, and speakeasies proliferated as places to drink it.

The distribution of moonshine, known as bootlegging, required good driving skills to avoid the police. Bootleggers modified their cars to be faster and more manoeuvrable, and this led to the creation of competitive racing, which gave birth to NASCAR.

Despite the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, moonshine continues to be produced in the United States, both locally and in licensed distilleries. While it may be tempting to seek out moonshine as a forbidden drink, it is important to remember that it is illegal and can be dangerous due to the lack of regulations and the potential for harmful manufacturing mistakes.

Smuggling

• Detroit, Michigan, was a hub for alcohol smuggling due to its proximity to Canada. Smugglers used various methods to hide alcohol, including false floorboards in automobiles, second gas tanks, hidden compartments, false-bottomed shopping baskets, and camouflaged flasks and hot water bottles.
• In one notable incident, six armed men stole $100,000 worth of "medicinal" whiskey from a train in Chicago just an hour after Prohibition took effect.
• Arnold Rothstein, a New York gangster, brought alcohol across the Great Lakes and the Hudson River from Canada to supply it to the city's gangsters.
• George Cassiday, a bootlegger in Washington, D.C., revealed to Congress in 1930 that he had been bootlegging for ten years and estimated that 80% of congressmen and senators drank alcohol despite Prohibition.
• Rum-running also occurred in other provinces and states, such as Ontario, Canada, and British Columbia.
• The Detroit River, which forms the border between the U.S. and Canada, was notoriously difficult to control for Prohibition agents.
• The Caribbean, Mexico, and Canada flourished as popular sources of alcohol, which was either consumed by visiting Americans or smuggled into the U.S. illegally.
• Moonshiners in rural areas of the country devised clever methods to evade Prohibition agents, such as attaching wooden blocks carved to resemble cow hooves to their shoes so that any footprints they left behind would appear bovine rather than human.
• People also smuggled alcohol by hiding it in hollow walking sticks, lamps, large overcoats, fake books, and even canes.

Prescription liquor

The prescription of alcohol by doctors was controversial, even before the Prohibition. In 1916, the authors of The Pharmacopeia of the United States of America removed brandy and whiskey from the list of scientifically approved medicines. And in 1917, the American Medical Association (AMA) stated that alcohol had no "scientific value" as a tonic or stimulant for healing. Despite this, the AMA rescinded its objection to the medicinal value of liquor in 1922, endorsing it as a treatment for a long list of ailments.

During Prohibition, doctors could prescribe alcohol for a range of conditions, including cancer, anxiety, indigestion, depression, tuberculosis, and high blood pressure. Patients could then have the prescription filled at a pharmacy, much like a modern-day marijuana dispensary.

The prescription of alcohol was not without its critics, who argued that doctors were performing bogus examinations and diagnoses to take advantage of a lucrative loophole in the law. It is estimated that doctors earned about $40 million from whiskey prescriptions between 1921 and 1930.

The prescription of alcohol was also an expensive endeavour for patients. In addition to the cost of the doctor's appointment, patients had to pay around $3 (around $37.50 in 2016 dollars) to have their prescription filled.

One famous beneficiary of prescription liquor was Winston Churchill, who was prescribed alcohol by his doctor following an accident in New York City in 1931. Churchill, a prodigious drinker, was in the country to give a lecture at the Brooklyn Academy of Music when he was struck by a car, resulting in a sprained shoulder and chest bruises. His physician, Dr Otto C Pickhardt, wrote that "the post-accident [recovery] of Hon. Winston S. Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits especially at meal times."

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