The increase of the illegal production and sale of liquor (known as “bootlegging”), the proliferation of speakeasies (illegal drinking spots) and the accompanying rise in gang violence and other crimes led to waning support for Prohibition by the end of the 1920s.

 The illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor went on throughout the decade, along with the operation of “speakeasies”, the smuggling of alcohol across state lines and the informal production of liquor (“moonshine” or “bathtub gin”) in private homes.

The high price of bootleg liquor meant that the nation’s working class and poor were far more restricted during Prohibition than middle or upper class Americans

Prohibition made criminals of millions of Americans. 

One of the legal exceptions to the Prohibition law was that pharmacists were allowed to dispense whiskey by prescription for any number of ailments. Bootleggers discovered that running a pharmacy was a perfect front for their trade. As a result, the number of registered pharmacists in New York State tripled during the Prohibition era.

Americans were also allowed to obtain wine for religious purposes, so enrollments rose at churches and synagogues, and cities saw a large increase in the number of self-professed rabbis who could obtain wine for their congregations. Overall either using the laws or becoming criminals, bootleggers were prospering and making huge amount of money. Money which could be used to help them achieve their American Dream.

 

     The mob was practically immune to the law as a result of the bribery of police and politicians alike.

Police officers and Prohibition agents alike were frequently tempted by bribes or the lucrative opportunity to go into bootlegging themselves. The most notorious example was the Chicago gangster Al Capone, who earned a staggering $60 million annually from bootleg operations and speakeasies. With the profits Capone enjoyed from his bootlegging activities, he could afford to pay out over half a million dollars a month to politicians for the protection of his properties (gambling joints, breweries, etc) across the city of Chicago. He was untouchable at the time, living his American Dream. Then he was cited for contempt and court and arrested.

 

The moral of being a bootlegger is that sure it's illegal and frowned upon, but it can also make you rich quickly and easily. You decide whether to join the dark side of the law.

 

Sources:

• "How the Law Finally Caught Up With Al Capone." FBI. FBI, 2005. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

• "Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

• "Organized Crime - How It Was Changed by Prohibition." Organized Crime - How It Was Changed by Prohibition. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

• "Prohibition." PBS. PBS. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.