Prohibition What is happening behind closed doors
Is the organized crime increase a coincidence?
Do you know the secrets of the illegal alcohol industry?
Table of Contents The Pointless Prohibition: pgs 3 and 4 Criminals Take Control: pgs 5 and 6 Organized Crime Political Cartoon: pg 7 Repeal of Prohibition: pg 8 Illegal Activity Surrounding Prohibition: pgs 9 and 10 Illegal Activity Surrounding Prohibition Political Cartoon: pg 11 Prohibition in good for the U.S.:Pg 12 The Harm of Prohibition: Pg 13 and 14 Bibliography: pg 15 and 16
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The Pointless Prohibition By: Sophie Dahlstrom Although the drinking of alcohol is decreasing since the 18th Amendment was put into place, there are still about 40% of people who still drink and sell alcohol in the United States. The Eighteenth Amendment was put into place January 16, 1919. This amendment no longer allows people to sell or produce alcohol in the United States. The people who support the passing of this amendment are called drys. Many people don't support the ban of alcohol and they are called wets. This amendment is ineffective because a tremendous amount of people are still finding ways to get alcohol. People are going to speakeasies, rum-running, and finding other ways of having alcohol. There are a lot of effects prohibition has on our country. Speakeasies are hidden pubs usually hidden in businesses. People go to speakeasies to get alcohol and hang out. To get into them you have to know the password or have some sort of membership. They do this so police won't be able to get into them. The prices of alcohol in speakeasies are pretty high. They have to charge more for the risk fee, which is people trying to get higher profits off of something that also has a high risk. Speakeasies are the most common way people are getting alcohol. 3
Rum-runners are people who sneak alcohol into the United States from other countries. The alcohol is transported in trucks and boats. The most common countries they are getting alcohol from is Canada, Britain, Mexico, and the Bahamas. These countries alcohol industries are growing and making a lot more money. The rum-runners job is a high risk. Many people are getting their alcohol stolen from them by mobs. They can't report the crime since they are also doing something illegal, and could get in trouble also. Rum-running is just another way that shows prohibition is not succeeding.
Prohibition is not as effective as the government thought it would be. It has created more problems than it has solved. The government would benefit if they legalized alcohol again. The amendment is ineffective and pointless. Speakeasies, rum-running, bathroom gin, and mobs fighting for control would end if they legalized alcohol again, and realized the prohibition isn't working.
Drug administrations are starting to find ways around the prohibition, so that they can put alcohol in their medicine. They put just enough medicine in it for it to be legal. People are finding ways to brew their own alcohol, which is referred to as bathtub gin. The United States organized crime rates is going up because of prohibition. People are fighting for control of the illegal alcohol industry. Death rates and crime rates are starting to sky rocket and the police aren't doing anything to stop it, or if they are they are getting targeted by the mobs.
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Criminals Take Control By Piper Brady
Organized crime is skyrocketing by an increase of 78%. Prohibition, the ban of alcohol, is the main cause for this, and has created many opportunities for criminals. The impact organized crime has on our country is tremendous. This hugely affects the life of law enforcers, dangerous gangs and bootleggers roam the country, and the increase in crime has become uncontrollable. The lives of law officials are changing dramatically due to the huge amount of organized crime. Officers who enforce prohibition are not taken seriously, they are greatly outnumbered and are laughed at. These officers have become the center of many jokes. The unloyal officers are bought off by bootleggers and rum runners so they can continue their business without a problem. These law officials are aware of illegal activity, but are paid to keep quiet and keep them from getting caught. These officers become very rich because of all the bribes they are given, but get in tons of trouble if caught. They are beaten or even killed if they break the bribery, or don’t accept in the first place. Law enforcement officers have to choose between being a loyal or unloyal officer and both have major impacts on their lives.
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Bootleggers and gangs have taken over cities and have become a danger to the population. Bootleggers are the main operators in stealing alcohol. Bootleggers have already stolen millions of gallons of alcohol and they also create their own. When making alcohol they use anything they find to put in it, including garbage. The health of anyone drinking this alcohol is in danger. If people try to stop them, they beat or even murder them. Gangs station men to hijack other dealers consignments on the borders. These men threaten people to buy alcohol from them, and even hurt them if they don’t. There has been around 400 gang related deaths each year since prohibition started. Leaders of the gangs hire people to kill those who disobey them, or refuse to help the gang. These groups make living in cities extremely dangerous and cause many deaths.
Since officials are to busy worrying about prohibition, crime throughout the country is greatly increasing, as criminals have no one to stop them. With only 1,550 agents against hundreds of thousands of criminals, crime fills the streets. The population refuses to follow the laws, and can get away with it because they outnumber law enforcement by so much. Violence and corruption is greatly increasing and does not look like it is going down anytime soon. As much as the officers try, crime can not be stopped, and they have lost control.
In conclusion, the United States is getting greatly impacted by organized crime. Law enforcement officials lives are changing and not for the better. Gangs and bootleggers cover the country, endangering many citizens and creating lots of crime. Crime is greatly increasing and can not be controlled. Organized crime is growing tremendously and has many effects on our country.
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Organized Crime Political Cartoon
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Repeal of Prohibition By: Jacauri Carter Some of the positives of the 18th amendment was, the amount of liquor became so expensive that the average person couldn't afford it. Some of the negatives were, some manufactured their own alcohol, such as “bathtub gin”, which was distilled and fermented in home bathtubs. People also took advantage of the volstead act loophole and found doctors who would prescribe alcohol for “medical conditions.” Americas best known gangster was al capone, he ruled chicago for most of the decade, capone began his career in new york. At the age of 20, he moved to chicago, where he quickly amassed wealth and power as owner of a network of speakeasies and casinos. Capones public image of a generous and kind hearted man gained him the respect and admiration of many city residents. The us should repeal prohibition because, alcohol causes injuries, accidents, and more, people who drink alcohol gets drunk and does stuff that you usually wouldn't do because they have no control over themself.
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Illegal Activities Surrounding Prohibition By: Juliana Rosanelli Since Prohibition started, a huge outbreak of crime and violence has begun. Prohibition started because there are a lot of issues surrounding alcohol abuse including unhappy marriages and people getting fired from their jobs. Because of this, Saloons are seen as very bad places where illegal activities happen. Based on the huge amount of concern, the Eighteenth Amendment became enforced on January 29, 1920. Under the Eighteenth Amendment, the importation/exportation, sale, and manufacture of illegal liquor is prohibited. Saloons had to be shut down and Americans were outraged. They weren’t going to allow their right be taken away, so they found ways to make sure they can still go drink whenever they want. One loophole found in the Eighteenth Amendment was that only the transportation and sell of alcohol was illegal, not to consume or purchase. This caused underground establishments where illegal alcohol was sold and consumed called speakeasies. The word speakeasy came around because people had to speak quietly as they entered or exited, in fear police would find out and shut it down. This didn’t solve any issues, only made them harder to find. 9
Another big issue are gangsters that are running illegal businesses and making millions for it. A lot of the bigger and successful gangs are located in the larger cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, etc. The most well known, dangerous, and notorious gangster for illegal crime is Al Capone. He brought out hundreds of breweries and transported the liquor across the U.S. highways and stationed armed men on the borders to hijack dealers.
With hundreds of thousands of violators, something had to be done. Agents went undercover to find the illegal production and sale of illegal alcohol. As there are notorious gangsters, there are also some notorious busters to go along with it. Some include two agents who go by Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith. They go undercover to capture speakeasy owners. The easiest way they did this was to go into a speakeasy establishment and trick the workers into serving them alcohol. They together seized almost eight million gallons of liquor and they are the reason 20% of all prohibition cases went to trial. 10
Illegal Activity Surrounding Prohibition Political Cartoon
No l r il al l u t e v o am a n
Eighteenth Amendment
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Prohibition is good for the U.S.
prohibition 70% of crime in the usa is related to drinking alcohol
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The Harm of Prohibition By: Sophie, Piper, Juliana, Jacauri, and Mackenzie Save our country and get rid of Prohibition. Prohibition in the United States should be repealed as soon as possible. It is being ignored, increasing organized crime, creating many new problems, giving way for new illegal activity and it is not a positive step for our country. The sooner we repeal prohibition the sooner we can take back control of our country. Prohibition harmed the United States. People all around town are disobeying the law and continuing to drink and sell alcohol in secret. People are going to speakeasies and drinking alcohol at the hidden pubs. Rum-runners are selling alcohol to U.S. citizens. Other people are brewing their own bathtub gin. There are a tremendous amount of people disobeying the prohibition, so officers could not even begin to catch everyone. Prohibition is filling the country with organized crime. Gangs and bootleggers are taking control and federal agents are losing authority. Agents are not taken seriously and are viewed as a joke, this is making crime rates increase rapidly. The amount of criminals is greatly outnumbering the amount of officials and crime can not be stopped. Prohibition has started the overflow of crime. The United States should repeal the Prohibition. It is creating more harm than good. If people want to drink and gamble that is their own choices, and the government can not stop everyone. If they are choosing to harm themselves, then it is none of the government's business. Prohibition is only worsening the problems they are trying to solve.
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Prohibition originally started because os the issue surrounding alcohol abuse, but now it is only causing illegal underground activity rather than diminishing or stopping it altogether. Saloons are shut down, and a rise of speakeasies are taking control. Prohibition is giving people like Al Capone an excuse to make millions with more crime and gang activity. Even with agents out busting crime, they won’t ever get nearly enough of it. There are hundreds and thousands of violators, going to show that the idea of prohibition was good, but is an unrealistic expectation in America. Prohibition is not a positive step for the country, because it has created many new problems. Instead of getting rid of the alcohol problem, it has now deepened that problem, and gave way for new ones. These new problems are outnumbering the old ones, and tearing our country to shreds. All prohibition has done is harm our country. As you can see prohibition is not being taken seriously. Alcohol was not a big enough problem in the first place. The government should have just let it be. People are ignoring the law, crime is increasing, there is more harm from it then good, people are illegally getting alcohol, and it isn’t a positive step for our country. We should repeal prohibition instead of continuing on like this.
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Bibliography Works Cited- Sophie Dahlstrom Bathtub Gin. Gin Tonic Pack, 11 June 2014, www.gintonicpack.com/blog/bathtub-gin-beber-ginebra-destilada-en-la-banera/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. Everything Must Go. Tavistock Books, blog.tavbooks.com/?p=1588. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018. Hanson, Erica. The 1920s. San Diego, Lucent Books, 1999. Lindop, Edmund, and Margaret J. Goldstein. America in the 1920s. Minneapolis, Twenty-First Century Books, 2010. Loading Gordon’s Gin aboard the Tomoka in the Bahamas, Drinking Cup, www.drinkingcup.net/1920-smuggling-with-the-real-mccoy/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018. Pietrusza, David. The Roaring Twenties. San Diego, Lucent Books, 1998. Rum-running. Historic Ipswich, 5 Apr. 2016, historicipswich.org/2016/04/05/rum/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. Speakeasies. Decline of Speakeasies, sites.google.com/site/speakeasiesinthe1920s/decline-of-speakeasies. Accessed 25 Oct. 2018. U.S.A. 1920s. Danbury, Grolier, 2005.
Works Cited- Piper Brady Dumond, John. 1920, bomb, cold case, crime. 16 Sept. 1920. word press, 16 Sept. 2017, armedrobbery.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/this-day-in-crime-history-september-16-1920-10/. Accessed 29 Oct. 2018. Hart, Diane, and Bert Bower. History Alive!: Pursuing American Ideals. Student edition. ed., Rancho Cordova, Teachers' Curriculum Institute, 2013. The Jazz Age: The 20s. Rev. ed., Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 2000. Pietrusza, David. The Roaring Twenties. San Diego, Lucent Books, 1998. police officers with confiscated alcohol. Sioux City Journal, 2 Oct. 2011, siouxcityjournal.com/blogs/brew/sioux-brew-during-prohibition-sioux-city-became-known-as-little/article_feabafda-1916-5c63-9 ca2-93c168eb4cff.html. Accessed 30 Oct. 2018. Telegram and the sun newspaper photograph. Britannica Kids, kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/155537#. Accessed 30 Oct. 2018. This Fabulous Century. Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 1987.
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Works Cited (Juliana) The Jazz Age: The 20s. Rev. ed., Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 2000. Pietrusza, David. The Roaring Twenties. San Diego, Lucent Books, 1998. This Fabulous Century. Alexandria, Time-Life Books, 1987. Yancey, Diane. Life during the Roaring Twenties. San Diego, Lucent Books, 2002.
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