prohibition, organized crime, speakeasies, bootlegging, and al capone
The decade of the roaring 1920’s was a prime example of both success and corruption, with the results of prohibition, a newly developed emergence of political beliefs, with fundamentalism and modernism, and a whole new national culture, encompassing art, music, and more. In January of 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, which banned the use of alcohol in the United States. The ban of alcohol was known as prohibition, and Americans could no longer legally drink or buy alcohol. Prohibition, though intended to be beneficial, was quite the opposite. Not only was it blatantly ignored by the general public, but spurred a flurry of organized crime. The people who illegally had possession of alcohol during prohibition were known as bootleggers (Batchelor 1). One major bootlegger of the time was named Al Capone, who was one of the most prominent criminals with relation to alcohol. Ironically enough, prohibition actually caused a larger drinking spree than before the amendment was passed. In the early 1920’s Chicago had over 7,000 drinking parlors, which were known as speakeasies. The drinking parlors were given this name because people had to whisper code words in order to enter. Physicians distributed prescriptions for medicinal alcohol, and pharmacies requested liquor licenses (Batchelor 3). Bootleggers used counterfeit prescriptions and liquor licenses in order to obtain liquor. Also, bootleggers imported liquor from other countries, and built secret breweries with complex security systems in order to avoid authorities. Due to the competition between various bootleggers, they would create a poorer quality of liquor by adding an inferior substance. This prevented other bootleggers from stealing their alcohol for themselves, but caused many problems and poisonings (Batchelor 6).
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