1. The Downside of Prohibition

2. Prohibition  There have been multiple movements to get alcohol out of American society  crime was very high and most was connected to alcohol  men would spend too much time and money at the saloon away from the family and their responsibilities  Several groups pushed to get alcohol out of American society (also called Temperance)  Women’s groups led the push  religious groups wanted to end the sins created by alcohol  Progressives wanted to clean up society

3. Taxes are the Key  Prohibition was not a possibility in the U.S. before 1913  Before 1913 the U.S. gov’t was dependent on alcohol taxes, so it could not afford to lose this source of revenue  The prohibition supporters understood this and pushed hard for the 16 th Amendment (the income tax amendment) in order to allow for prohibition

4. What does Prohibition do???  Prohibition made the manufacturing, transportation, and sale of alcohol illegal  this was the 18 th Amendment (went into effect Jan. 1920)  did not make it illegal to drink it made it near impossible to get alcohol  Vlosted Act was created to define what an “intoxicating liquor” was  intoxicating meant more than.5% alcohol by volume

5. PROBLEM  Many Americans were not willing to accept this new amendment  Illegal alcohol became a major part of America  Bootleggers would illegally produce and sell alcohol (name came from flasks that would be hidden in boots)  Bathtub Gin was a liquor made by people in their houses

6. Organized Crime  Organized Crime groups became the main suppliers of alcohol during Prohibition  they had the resources and the morals to do this  they get alcohol from illegal or foreign producers  they often controlled the establishments that would sell the alcohol as well  they had better weapons than the law and could win a shootout  They made incredible amounts of money doing this  estimated that Capone’s gang made in the $50 million range in their better years ($800 M in today’s money)  money was used to pay off officials to look the other way

7. Crime and Violence  The Crime Gangs used violence to take out anybody who came on their “turf”  it was an unwritten rule to not go after law enforcement but this was not always followed  from time to time law enforcement would be targeted if they were not cooperating with the gangs ***It was when they went after authorities that led the authorities to crack down on gangs

8. Alcohol Crackdown?  It evidently was very difficult for the Feds to crack down on the illegal alcohol scene  many charges were brought but few convictions  One method of taking down big bootleggers was to go after them for tax evasion  they made tons of money yet govt had no record of them paying taxes  some were allowed to pay back taxes and go others like Capone were made an example of and were imprisoned for failure to pay taxes

9. Prohibition Propaganda

10. Homemade Alcohol Cartoon

11. Getting Rid of the Alcohol

12. Al Capone