Prohibition and Organised Crime

Prohibition and Organised Crime

Prohibition was the ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic drinks in the United States. It was introduced by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (ratified January 1919) and enforced by the Volstead Act (October 1919). Prohibition came into effect on 16 January 1920 and lasted until it was repealed by the 21st Amendment on 5 December 1933.

Why Was Prohibition Introduced?

The campaign against alcohol had been building for decades. Key reasons include:

• The Temperance Movement — Organisations like the Anti-Saloon League (founded 1893) and the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) campaigned vigorously against alcohol, blaming it for poverty, domestic violence, and moral decline.
• Rural and religious pressure — Many Protestant churches, particularly in the rural South and Midwest, saw alcohol as sinful. The "Bible Belt" states were strongly in favour of prohibition.
• Anti-immigrant sentiment — Saloons were associated with immigrant communities (German brewers, Irish bars). Banning alcohol was partly an attack on immigrant culture.
• Wartime pressures — During WWI, grain was needed for food, not brewing. Anti-German feeling targeted German-owned breweries (e.g. Anheuser-Busch). Prohibition seemed patriotic.
• Industrial efficiency — Employers like Henry Ford supported prohibition, believing sober workers would be more productive and have fewer accidents.

How Was Prohibition Enforced?

Enforcement was the responsibility of Prohibition agents (also called "dry agents"), but it faced enormous difficulties:

• Only 1,500 agents were initially employed to police the entire country — a task that was essentially impossible.
• The USA had 29,000 km of coastline and land borders, making smuggling easy.
• Agents were poorly paid (around $2,500 a year) and many accepted bribes from bootleggers.
• Public opinion was divided — millions of Americans had no intention of obeying the law.

The Rise of Organised Crime

Prohibition created a vast illegal alcohol trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which was taken over by organised crime:

• Bootlegging — The illegal manufacture and distribution of alcohol. Smugglers brought liquor from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Others made moonshine (home-distilled spirits), which was sometimes dangerous — some contained methanol and caused blindness or death.
• Speakeasies — Illegal drinking establishments. By 1930, there were an estimated 200,000 speakeasies in the USA (compared to 15,000 legal saloons before prohibition). To enter, you needed to know a password — you had to "speak easy" (quietly).
• Al Capone — The most notorious gangster of the era. Capone controlled the illegal alcohol trade in Chicago, earning an estimated $60 million a year from bootlegging alone. He employed around 700 men and bribed police, judges, and politicians (including the Mayor of Chicago, Big Bill Thompson). Capone was responsible for the St Valentine's Day Massacre (14 February 1929), when seven members of the rival Bugs Moran gang were gunned down. He was eventually convicted of tax evasion in 1931 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Key Figure	Role
Al Capone	Chicago crime boss, controlled bootlegging
Bugs Moran	Rival gang leader targeted in St Valentine's Day Massacre
Eliot Ness	Led the "Untouchables" — a team of incorruptible agents
Izzy Einstein & Moe Smith	Famous Prohibition agents who made 4,392 arrests

Why Did Prohibition Fail?

Prohibition is widely regarded as a failure because:

• It was impossible to enforce across such a large country with so few agents.
• It increased crime rather than reducing it — organised crime flourished.
• It corrupted law enforcement and the justice system through widespread bribery.
• It made drinking more fashionable, especially among young people and women (who had rarely entered saloons but did visit speakeasies).
• It reduced government revenue by eliminating alcohol taxes (around $500 million a year).
• The Great Depression (from 1929) changed priorities — legalising alcohol would create jobs and tax revenue.

Repeal

Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned for the presidency in 1932 partly on a promise to end Prohibition. The 21st Amendment was ratified on 5 December 1933, making it the only constitutional amendment to repeal a previous amendment.

Key Exam Points

• Prohibition is a case study in the unintended consequences of legislation.
• Be prepared to answer questions about causes, consequences, and reasons for failure.
• Use specific evidence (statistics, names, dates) to support your arguments.