The Prohibition of the Progressive Era was a time in America where good intentions ironically backfired, rebellion rose to extreme heights, and society was literally threatened with the prospect of being systematically eradicated. What was the Prohibition? The Prohibition was a period of time in America when the manufacture, trade, sale, distribution, and consumption, of “intoxicating liquor” became illegal. Who could do such a thing you may ask? First, let’s discuss some of the policies pertaining to alcohol that were adopted throughout America.The Prohibition was not the first attempt at keeping the consumption of alcohol under constraint. In the early days of our nation’s history, there were no laws against drinking, public or otherwise. Because of this, it was not an uncommon sight to see a man staggering down the street. Public drunkenness soon became an anathema in society, and things began to change. In 1697, New York passed a law that closed down all saloons on Sunday’s. The meaning behind this law was that people thought that Sunday was a day of worship to God and that it should not be focused on drinking.
In 1855, Maine was the first state to have a completely successful ban of alcohol. Before too long, more than twelve other states had followed Maine’s lead and became “dry” states. States that still allowed alcohol were known as “wet” states. There was still much controversy which made prohibition a touchy subject.People who voted for and promoted the banning of alcohol were known as Prohibitionists. These people called their cause a ‘noble experiment’, and they believed that the banning of alcohol, alcohol, and other “immoral” products would greatly reduce crime. They hoped to rid America of gambling, prostitution, drunkenness, diseases, and anything that they deemed immoral. The Prohibitionists were beginning to gain momentum with their cause when the Civil War began. The idea of banning alcohol was thrown aside with the pressing war, and the extremely high demand for alcohol that the war caused.Alcohol was a common sight among the armies of the Union and the Confederates, the North and South. For one thing, alcohol was usually consumed before a battle. Many men felt that having alcohol was a blessing with the prospect of death staring the men in the face. Not only was alcohol used as a “last moment’s pleasure”, but it was also used to boost the morale of soldiers by getting them into a great fighting spirit. Alcohol was then used in the aftermath of battle. Doctors began using alcohol to treat their patients, especially war victims. Alcohol was thought to be a wonder cure for nearly any ailment. It would purge people of sicknesses, sooth them, and prepare them for surgery. Alcohol was often used in place of anesthesia because alcohol was cheap, easy to make or obtain, and anesthesiologists were not very common.After the Civil War, the Anti Saloon League started back up almost as if a nation wide war hadn’t happened at all. Along with the Anti Saloon League, the WCTU began. The WCTU stands for Women’s Christian Temperance Union. One of the leaders of the WCTU was a woman by the name of Carry A. Nation. Carry Nation was a bit of a brute who hated alcohol, tobacco, fashionably dressed women, and more. She became famous for boldly striding into a saloon, legal or otherwise, voraciously yelling at the patrons, and viciously smashing everything in site with an axe. Despite her crude mannerisms, she was a powerful speaker who roused many to her cause for temperance.
Women were the biggest contributors to the expansion of the organizations that were promoting temperance. People took stock of the power of the women’s conviction. Most of the people who joined the ranks of the Prohibitionists were enticed by the ideas that were spewing from the pro-temperance activists’ mouths.
Reverend Billy Sunday gave this passionate speech: "The reign of tears is over. The slums will soon be a memory. We will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs. Men will walk upright now, women will smile and children will laugh. Hell will be forever for rent." Many of the people who had joined the Prohibitionists thought that they were only trying to ban drunkenness, not alcohol altogether. These people felt that having a beer after work or having wine at dinner or a party was perfectly fine as long as it did not lead on to drunkenness. These people’s eyes were opened once Prohibition became law. They felt betrayed, and the Prohibition Party suffered major losses when those followers left.People who lived in wet states and who did not support the Prohibitionists ideals took matters into their own hands to obtain alcohol. They quickly found loopholes in the laws that the states had passed that kept people from getting alcohol from saloons. The postal service was soon used for things other than its originally intended purpose. Because the postal service was run by the federal government and not the state government, it was perfectly legal for people within the dry states to order liquor from dry states in the mail. The dry states were only too happy to help their dry brothers.As you can imagine, once the Prohibitionists realized what was happening within the postal service, they were furious. In 1913, the Interstate Liquor Act was passed. This act made it illegal for liquor to be transported from a wet state to a dry state.By the beginning of the 20th century, over half of all of the recognized states had become dry (this was before Alaska and Hawaii became official states). The 18th amendment was proposed in 1917 but remained a matter of debate for two years. Many of the states still fiercely opposed a national prohibition of alcohol. In 1919, at the height of the Prohibitionists power, they were able to get a two-thirds vote in congress to get the proposition of the 18th Amendment under way. The 18th amendment made it law that liquor with an alcohol content of over 40% was illegal. On January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment changed America. Here is the official proposal:Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.Section. 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.Section. 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.At first, it had seemed that the Prohibitionists were right and had won a great victory over the “evils” of alcohol. For a very short time, crime rates including murder, theft, drunkenness, and arresting dropped a considerable amount. However, people were still getting alcohol, and using the alcohol that they already had. In October of 1919, the Volstead Act was enacted. The Volstead Act gave authorities more power and the authorization to crack down hard on violators of the 18th amendment. The Volstead Act also changed the limit of alcoholic beverages from 40% to ½% this effectively banned all types of alcohol in the United States.People were outright furious with this turn of events. People began to realize that they had to act in order to preserve the traditions and benefits of alcohol. Much to the dismay of the Prohibitionists, over the course of the enactment of the 18th amendment, crime shot to never-before seen heights, and the foundations of America were literally on the brink of collapse.People became very inventive. They thought of new ways to import, make, transport, and sell alcohol. Many families became criminals in a literal sense. Families could easily make their own beer, whiskey, gin, or anything else alcoholic at home. This home brewed alcohol was called “moonshine”. The whole family would take part in the beer making process. My grandfather has told me stories of the moonshine that his family and many other families of the county would make during the prohibition and county-wide alcohol bans.
Some of the alcohol was very dangerous for consumers. A new way of making alcohol had been discovered. Traditional alcohol was made with vegetables and other forms of produce. The new alcohol was made with wood. This alcohol was just as good as traditional alcohol, and it was cheaper to make. However, this alcohol had terrible side affects. Permanent blindness was one of the most common side affects. Brain damage and permanently crooked walking were also among the more serious dangers of this new alcohol. Nevertheless, it was alcohol and people were willing to take the risk as long as they could get their fix.To avoid getting caught when they wanted to get their alcohol around, people would hide their liquor in fake books, garden hoses, and anything else within reason that could hold a liquid. There was even a reported case of a man who had replaced the yolks of chicken eggs with alcohol.Anyone caught by the police would be taken to jail. A fine had to be paid, and if the fine could not be paid, that person was sentenced to six months in jail or prison or until the fine could be paid. This was also the sentence for people who were publicly intoxicated. This was really pretty ironic. People who were arrested and put in jail for long periods of time were given food, water, clothing, and shelter. This cost the government many more millions of dollars in law enforcement than had been spent before the prohibition. Here are some statistics of the times: Police funding: Increased $11.4 Million• Arrests for Prohibition Las Violations: Increased 102%• Arrests for Drunkenness and Disorderly Conduct: Increased 41%• Arrests of Drunken Drivers: Increased 81%• Thefts and Burglaries: Increased 9%• Homicides, Assault, and Battery: Increased13%• Number of Federal Convicts: Increased 561%• Federal Prison Population: Increased 366%• Total Federal Expenditures on Penal Institutions: Increased 1,000%As you can see, crime rates skyrocketed. Jails and prisons were filled to bursting, and law could not possibly hope to keep up with the overwhelming opposition that everyday Americans were creating. One of the worst effects of the Prohibition was that organized crime became organized. The mob became a fearful powerhouse in America, especially within the large cities. The gangsters of the 1920’s were utterly ruthless.
Because alcohol had turned into a cash crop, the mob jumped at the opportunity to control the monopolies of illegal alcohol. Doctors could legally prescribe alcohol to patients. Many bloody mob wars were fought over who had control of the doctors in the cities. The doctor’s signatures were the key to obtaining the legal alcohol. Mobs and gangs would have large shipments of alcohol running throughout the city. The Mob had direct access to the police force and government as well. The Mob would never hesitate to employ new and young immigrants to their ranks who were all to willing to become respected within their communities. This caused much renewed resentment towards the immigrants. The Mob would publicly capture their own shipments of alcohol and the alcohol would then be government property. The alcohol was then taken to warehouses where it could be sold at leisure. The illegal sale of alcohol was known as bootlegging.
The easiest ways for bootlegging to take place and for regular people to get alcohol took place in speakeasies. Speakeasies were small bars that sold alcohol to a small amount of people. The only way that you were allowed to enter a speakeasy was if you knew the secret password, handshake, or had some other way to signify that you legitimately wanted alcohol.
Most of these little clubs were basically just a way that a group of friends could get together in an apartment, or warehouse, or whatever and drink together without immediate fear of the police. However, a number of the speakeasies were parts of the large businesses that were ultimately controlled by the Mob. These speakeasies were more like night clubs. In these speakeasies, the cities wealthy and powerful, often highly ranked public officials could gather in secrecy. Large scale gambling, prostitution, and drug rings thrived in these underground crime circles. The police were paid a substantial amount of money to keep quiet and stay away from these speakeasies. Because of many budget cuts, the police would often accepts these bribes in order to support their families. There were only a handful of clean cops in any major city. The high budget speakeasies also had specially designed and hidden caches where the alcohol and drugs could be kept when the occasional police raid occurred.
As it happens, Alphonse Capone (more commonly known as Al Capone) rose to become the greatest and most well known gangster in American History. He owned many speakeasies at the top of his game and was the instigator of many murders throughout Chicago during the Prohibition. During the Prohibition, the number of speakeasies ranged from 30,000 to over 100,000 in New York City alone! It was noted that for every saloon that had closed in New York, half a dozen speakeasies sprung up. To the dismay of the Prohibitionists, the environment within speakeasies often pressured many Americans into addictively using narcotics and other lethal and addictive drugs in place of alcohol.Alcohol became a “gateway drug” for many. Prostitution also became very prevalent. Women would often give their services away nothing which would upset the “professionals”. Because of the mixed feelings of the Prohibition between states, political parties, and the American people, the media had a great influence in America. Political cartoons were among the most common forms of spreading a common idea. Cartoons would often depict the “evils” of alcohol, or the destruction that the Prohibition was causing to American society. Films were very popular throughout the 1920’s. The Prohibitionists petitioned for the film industry to portray alcoholism as immoral and an anathema to society. The opposite of their demands was enacted. Before the Prohibition, movies often depicted drinking with violence, crime, and immorality. During the Prohibition however, the heroes of the story were often shown drinking much more than the villains. This was meant to show that drinking could be handled and that drinking was often associated with wealth and stability. These films continued to make a substantial amount of money along with movies about gangsters. Jazz music was also a matter of controversy during this time.
Jazz was the most popular music of the time. Jazz’s very nature promotes uneven, unpredictable, and expressive styles of dance and music. Dancing that was a bit explicit for the time was often done when Jazz was played. Jazz was often played in speakeasies and in nightclubs. The common people (mainly fueled by the rancor and hypnotic views and will of the Prohibitionists) grew to despise Jazz and what it stood for. Those people chose not to see Jazz as an expressive style of music, but rather as pathway to drinking, adultery, gambling, and ultimately to crime in and of itself. With all of this turmoil seeping through America, courts could not possibly keep up with all of the illegal activity running rampant.The government, courts, and the American people called for the end of the Prohibition. In December of 1933, President FDR, backed by the majority of states, passed the 21st amendment to the constitution. The 21st amendment effectively repealed the 18th amendment. To this day, the 18th amendment is the only amendment in our nation’s history to have been repealed. It was now up to each individual state whether or not to remain dry. Almost all of the states lifted the ban. Only a handful of states remained dry, but soon, all of them disbanded the law. Missouri was the last state to lift the ban in 1966, 33 years after the nationwide prohibition ended.Before too long, most of the speakeasies were shut down, many people were let out of prison, court cases were dropped, and for the most part, moonshine ended. The Prohibitionists were defeated, and the political party was no more. Today, the laws pertaining to alcohol still remain under the jurisdiction of each individual state. State counties can choose to be dry. Iowa has some strange laws. I am not quite sure of the accuracy of these laws, but here are some that I have found.• It’s illegal to run a “tab.”• If a law enforcement officer is having a drink in a bar in Iowa and an employee pours water down the drain, the water is legally considered an alcohol beverage intended for unlawful purposes.• It’s no easier after work. An owner or employee of an establishment in Iowa that sells alcohol can't even legally consume a drink there after closing for business.Every state has similar laws throughout their counties. Here is a recap of the Prohibition during the Progressive Era. Prohibition=bad for America.
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