Prohibition, Organized Crime, Bootleggers and Speakeasies
These are bootleggers on the first day of prohibition
In the early 1920’s the government decided that prohibition, or the banning of marketing and consumption of alcohol, would lower the crime rate in the United States. However, rather than reducing crime it created an entire black market in which citizens bought and sold alcohol.
The suppliers were called bootleggers, the smuggled alcohol into the U.S from Canada in flasks hidden in their boots and under their pant legs. Some of the most famous boot leggers include, William McCoy, Joe Kennedy, Jay Gatsby and Al Capone, all whom became very wealthy from this trade. As prohibition continued, Speakeasies began to appear around towns and cities. In essence these were just secret bars that the bootleggers hot their most prevalent business. In the end this black market business began to draw all the officials’ attention and the issues that
needed attention were being neglected. Finally after thirteen years of prohibition, the
government finally decided that they were not getting the affect they had wanted. Rather than
crime and local drunkenness decreasing they just about doubled and the citizens lost respect for
their government.
The suppliers were called bootleggers, the smuggled alcohol into the U.S from Canada in flasks hidden in their boots and under their pant legs. Some of the most famous boot leggers include, William McCoy, Joe Kennedy, Jay Gatsby and Al Capone, all whom became very wealthy from this trade. As prohibition continued, Speakeasies began to appear around towns and cities. In essence these were just secret bars that the bootleggers hot their most prevalent business. In the end this black market business began to draw all the officials’ attention and the issues that
needed attention were being neglected. Finally after thirteen years of prohibition, the
government finally decided that they were not getting the affect they had wanted. Rather than
crime and local drunkenness decreasing they just about doubled and the citizens lost respect for
their government.