Prohibition Flashcards
What did the 18th Amendment do?
Banned sale, transportation and manufacture of “intoxicating liquor”
Volstead Act 1919
Defined intoxicating liquor as drink containing over 0.5% alcohol
When did National Prohibition begin? How many states has already banned alcoholic drinks?
- National Prohibition began 1920
- 18 states had already banned alcoholic drinks in 1916, 27 states by 1917
SUCCESS: Church and Temperance Movements
- What was their issue with alcohol?
- Which religious group heavily campaigned for prohibition?
- Women’s groups saw alcohol as damaging family relations; made men more violent and abusive to wives/ children
- Men drank away their wages, leaving their families neglected and starving; used effective campaigning depicting neglected families
- Alcohol linked to gambling, prostitution (unchristian)
- Women’s Christian Temperance Union: alcohol is a work of the devil, responsible for sin, heavily campaigned for prohibition
SUCCESS: Impact of the War on Reducing Alcohol Consumption
- What was considered patriotic?
- Why were some breweries boycotted?
- What was the “brave new world”?
- Grain used in production of alcohol needed for food= “patriotic” to give up alcohol to feed the country
- Many largest breweries e.g. Budweiser, Pabst were German= unpatriotic to support them
- Alcoholism linked to communism- stereotype of drunken Bolsheviks.
- Belief that alcohol led young soldiers away from home into sin and temptation= best to create a “brave new world” (restrained behaviour, no alcohol)
What was the 1917 Lever Act?
Banned use of grain in manufacture of alcohol
SUCCESS: Support of Businesses and Factory Owners
- Why did large corporations support prohibition?
- Two large corporations in support of prohibition?
- Saw drunkenness as leading to inefficiency and danger in the workplace, especially factories, which affected profit margins
- Rockerfeller and Heinz: lobbied for prohibition for greater workforce efficiency
SUCCESS: Weak Opposition to Prohibition
- Who were the AFL, why did they have little impact?
- Forces against were unorganised, overall little protest
- One march/ rally in NYC, parade in Baltimore but had small turnout and little impact
- American Federation of Labour: led a campaign against “taking away the working man’s beer”, had less impact as AFL was thought to be communist
FAILURE: Geographical Difficulties
- How many miles of land borders did the US share with Canada and Mexico?
- What was Rum Row?
- 6,500 miles of land border with US and Mexico, neither had prohibition= difficult to enforce, lots of alcohol illegally imported
- Waters just outside the national limits labelled “Rum Row” due to successful smuggling in these areas
What % of alcohol coming into the US was being intercepted?
1925: enforcement officers estimate only 5% of alcohol coming into the US was intercepted
How many $ worth of alcohol was seized in 1924? What was actual estimated volume of business?
- $4 million worth of alcohol was seized in 1924
- Actual volume of businesses estimated at $800 million
What is bootlegging?
- Production, transportation and sale of alcohol illegally
- Bootleggers exploited alcohol still sold by chemists on doctor’s prescriptions
Who was the “King of Bootleggers” and what did he do?
- George Remus- bought breweries for manufacture of “medicinal alcohol” then arranged for a total of 3000 gangsters to hijack his products for illegal stills in cities
- Made $5 million in 5 years
Why was industrial alcohol a problem?
Industrial alcohol was easily redistilled and diverted into alcoholic drinks
What was moonshine?
- DIY Alcohol made from scratch or using industrial/ medical alcohol
- Highly profitable= encouraged ordinary people to start making/ selling their own alcohol e.g. even taxi drivers sold moonshine
How many deaths in NY due to moonshine?
No quality control= 34 deaths in NY related to moonshine, due to dangerous chemicals/ substances used
FAILURE: Treasury Agents
How many treasury agents were employed by 1920? What were their numbers at their highest?
- Only 1,500 Treasury Agents employed by 1920
- At their highest, 3000 employed
- Could not cope with number of speakeasies and bootleggers
What was the average salary for a Treasury Agent? Why was this an issue?
Average salary only $2,500, meanwhile they were shutting down an industry with approximately $2 billion in annual profits= many officers were corrupt, took bribes
How much was one officer rumoured to make illegally?
One officer said to have made $7 million selling illegal licenses and pardons to bootleggers
What % of officers fired for corruption?
1920-1930: approximately 10% of treasury agents fired for corruption.
FAILURE: Speakeasies
What were they and why were they popular?
- Illegal drinking in gangster-run speakeasies became popular with fashionable city dwellers
- Most Americans’ main aim during prosperity of 1920s was to have fun, particularly in cities= drank in secret, many formerly law-abiding citizens now breaking law
How many speakeasies in Detroit 1925?
15,000 speakeasies
How many speakeasies in NY 1929?
30,000 speakeasies
FAILURE: Difficulties amongst supporters
How much did the Anti-Saloon League want and how much were they given?
- ASL estimated $5 million budget needed to enforce prohibition
- Kramer given only $2 million= ill equipped
