Prohibition in the United States
"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." – Reverend Billy Sunday at the beginning of Prohibition.
Prohibition in the United States, a period etched in American history, was a nationwide constitutional ban on the production, import, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. This era, spanning from 1920 to 1933, was a social and political experiment driven by the belief that eliminating alcohol would solve many of the nation’s problems. However, the reality of Prohibition was far more complex, marked by unintended consequences, the rise of organized crime, and a profound shift in American culture.
The Waning of the Old West and the Rise of Temperance
As the United States transitioned into the 20th century, the romanticized era of the Old West was fading. Railroads replaced stagecoaches, cities flourished, and the once-wild frontier was gradually being tamed. Figures like Wyatt Earp, who once roamed the West, found themselves recounting their frontier tales in the burgeoning entertainment industry of Hollywood.
Amidst this transformation, a new movement was gaining momentum in the East: the Temperance Movement. Advocates of temperance viewed alcohol as the root of many societal ills, associating it with poverty, crime, corruption, and overall social decay. Saloons, often described as "dens of iniquity," became the target of their efforts.
From Moderation to Prohibition
The temperance movement emerged in the 1830s, initially advocating for moderation in alcohol consumption. They encouraged the consumption of beer and wine while urging abstention from hard liquor. In 1851, Maine took a radical step by prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. By 1855, thirteen of the then thirty-one states had followed suit, enacting similar laws.
However, the Civil War shifted the nation’s focus, and many soldiers returning from the conflict had developed a taste for alcohol. As men moved westward in search of fortune and adventure, saloons flourished in mining camps and frontier settlements, becoming a central part of their social lives.
The Rise of Female Activism
The arrival of women in the West began to change the perception of saloons. Barred from these establishments, "proper" women increasingly viewed saloons as hotbeds of vice, where drinking was accompanied by gambling, prostitution, dancing, and tobacco use. Women became politically active, joining the fight against saloons in the 1880s, revitalizing the temperance movement.
A decade later, the temperance movement shifted its focus from moderation to complete Prohibition. Supporters infiltrated politics and school boards, disseminating anti-alcohol propaganda to children. Supported primarily by the middle class and women, the movement gained national attention by the turn of the century.
The Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union
Fueled by the belief that alcohol was the bane of all evil, the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) organized marches and protests, demanding the closure of saloons. These groups grew into a powerful political force, advocating for strong moral leadership from the government.
The movement achieved early successes, including higher licensing rates for taverns and restrictions on new permits. Some cities even banned "free lunch tables" and eliminated mustache towels, gradually diminishing the appeal of traditional saloons.
The Path to Prohibition
By 1916, twenty-one states had banned saloons, and Congress increasingly favored Prohibition. World War I further bolstered the movement, as many Americans considered it unpatriotic to use grain for alcohol production. The German origins of many large brewers and distillers also fueled anti-alcohol sentiment.
Business leaders believed that Prohibition would increase worker productivity. John D. Rockefeller donated over $350,000 to the Anti-Saloon League, and Henry Ford declared, "The country couldn’t run without Prohibition. That is the industrial fact."
On December 18, 1917, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Herbert Hoover called it the "noble experiment." With 75% of the states approving, the amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919. The Volstead Act, passed in 1920, provided the means to enforce the amendment.
The Unintended Consequences of Prohibition
Prohibition devastated the nation’s brewing industry, leading to the closure of major industries in cities like St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Chicago. While Prohibition advocates celebrated initial successes, such as decreased arrests for drunkenness and alcohol-related illnesses, the law also had negative consequences. Thousands of people lost their jobs, from brewery employees to bartenders and grape growers.
While statistics showed a general decrease in drinking, this trend had already begun before Prohibition. Many believed that the decline was due to the high cost of bootlegged liquor rather than the law itself. Prohibition maintained some success, particularly in rural areas, but liquor continued to flow relatively freely in cities.
The Rise of Bootlegging and Speakeasies
As World War I ended and the nation’s spirits rose, the demand for liquor surged. This created an opportunity for those willing to circumvent the law, leading to the rise of bootleggers, illegal alcohol traffickers, and speakeasies.
Before Prohibition, women drank very little alcohol. However, in 1920, women gained the right to vote, and they embraced their newfound freedoms. The "Jazz Age" emerged, marked by a loosening of morals, contrary to the intentions of Prohibition advocates. Flappers, with their short skirts and bobbed hair, frequented speakeasies, daring to smoke cigarettes and drink cocktails. This new era was characterized by "bad booze, flappers with bare legs, jangled morals, and wild weekends," as described by songwriter Hoagy Carmichael.
Organized Crime and Political Corruption
The need to supply illegal establishments with alcohol led to the rise of organized crime. Figures like Al "Scarface" Capone in Chicago, the Purple Gang of Detroit, and Lucky Luciano in New York emerged, controlling the majority of speakeasies, from lavish nightclubs to smoky basement taverns.
Despite raids by law enforcement, authorities struggled to keep up. Club owners often disguised their businesses, installing elaborate alarms and hiding contraband in secret compartments. Some establishments bribed Prohibition agents and police officers, leading to widespread political corruption.
Organized crime groups controlled the liquor industry, leading to turf wars and gang murders, such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929. Chicago authorities reported as many as 400 gangland murders each year. Other cities across the nation were also plagued by illegal liquor trafficking, speakeasies, and related violence.
Creative Evasion and Medicinal Alcohol
Bootleggers found creative ways to transport and hide liquor, using boats laden with hooch from Mexico and Canada. Liquor was concealed under produce, in crates labeled with other products, in coconut shells, and garden hoses. Breweries continued to produce "near beer" with low alcohol content, while also secretly producing "real beer."
California grape growers began producing a grape juice product called Vine-Glo, with instructions warning against improper handling that would turn it into wine. Land used for growing grapes in California expanded nearly seven times between 1919 and 1926.
Individuals also found ways to hide liquor in hip flasks, hot water bottles, hollowed-out canes, and false books. The sale of medicinal alcohol, patent medicines, elixirs, and tonics dramatically increased. Many "decent, law-abiding" citizens became criminals overnight.
The Downfall of Prohibition
Prohibitionists lost control over the location of drinking establishments. Illegal speakeasies sprouted up everywhere, unrestricted by previous ordinances and licensing laws. Serious crime rates, which had been falling, gradually reversed during Prohibition, with increases in homicides, burglary, and assault. Prisons became overcrowded with those incarcerated for alcohol-related crimes.
As newspaper headlines screamed of violence, the public increasingly blamed Prohibition for the violence and political corruption. The Treasury Department, tasked with enforcement, faced budget constraints and lacked public support. Groups began to organize to repeal Prohibition, particularly after the Great Depression, when people sought jobs that would be created by reopening breweries, distilleries, and taverns.
The Repeal of Prohibition
By 1932, both presidential candidates, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, favored repeal. After his election, Roosevelt backed the repeal, and on December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution officially repealed the 18th Amendment, ending the "Noble Experiment."
With the end of Prohibition, the word "saloon" virtually disappeared from American vocabulary. Legal establishments reopened, referring to themselves as "cocktail lounges" and "taverns."
Prohibition in the United States stands as a cautionary tale of unintended consequences and the complexities of social engineering. While intended to create a more moral and orderly society, it instead fueled organized crime, political corruption, and a cultural shift that transformed American society.