20s Prohibition Flashcards
How did WWI contribute to prohibitions popularity?
Many brewers were German and to support their economy during this time was unpatriotic
Who campaigned for Prohibition?
The Anti Saloon League
What were the moral arguments for prohibition?
Alcohol lead to promiscuity, poverty, crime and violence.
It was apparently breaking up families
How did most people get around prohibition?
Speakeasies were bars or clubs where smuggled alcohol would be illegally sold, in New York alone there were thousands openly operating
Who was a famous smuggler of alcohol and how much did he smuggle?
William McCoy smuggled $70 million worth of whiskey from Canada.
How did gangsters influence grow?
Capone was earning over $100 million per year from alcohol trade and control,
Over 200 gang members were murdered from 1927-31
What was moonshine?
The illegal manufacturer of alcohol in distilleries
Why was moonshine so easily produced and speakeasies so openly run?
There weren’t enough Treasury Agents to close them down, many of those that there were were corrupt and accepted bribes to let it happen
What was a famous massacre during the era of prohibition?
The valentines day massacre, 7 members of Capones rival gang were killed with machine guns
Who repealed prohibition?
Roosevelt in 1933 he believed money was better spent creating jobs than failing to enforce prohibition,
Alcohol could also now be taxed
What was prohibition also known as?
The noble experiment
