Bootlegging In America

Bootleggers were smugglers. Between January 1920 and April 1933, the National Prohibition Act also known as the Volstead Act was in effect in America. It prohibited the manufacture or sale of any beverages with an alcoholic content higher than 0.5%. This did not sit well with the general public. Canadian bootleggers, rumrunners and eventually mobsters cashed in on this dissatisfaction. The illegal sales of alcoholic beverages was big business. People were thirsty. Bootleggers and rumrunners were there to fill the need.

HOW IT STARTED -

Prohibition had long been on the minds of those involved in the temperance movement As far back as the 1700's there were organized efforts to control the consumption of alcohol in the United States. At first most temperance groups advocated moderation rather than abstinence from drinking. Beginning in 1825 evangelical Protestants forged ahead with the temperance crusade claiming abstinence was the only way to deter drunkenness. Many women got involved in the movement and played a major role in the enactment of 1920's Prohibition. This was because they were often victims of alcohol abuse by their husbands leading to domestic violence.

Prohibition in the 1920's began as a reform measure pioneered by the Progressives. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party claimed a sizeable portion of Progressives at that time, What they were looking for were government solutions to social problems. The main goal of 1920's Prohibition was to rein in the drinking habits of workers. The business community, of course, agreed. They wanted sober hard working men to increase production.

The whole thing turned out to be a mess. Enforcement of 1920's Prohibition was a nightmare. Criminal elements saw huge profits in bootlegging. Law enforcement in general was viewed unfavorably by much of the population and organized crime organizations were thought to have many police officials on their payroll.

 

The LANGUAGE -

BOOTLEGGING - Bootlegging was the illegal transport and distribution of liquor usually from Canada or other foreign countries. The term comes from the practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boots under pants legs. Bootlegging became a lucrative industry in America particularly for organized crime syndicates.

RUM RUNNERS - A rum runner was a bootlegger but the term more specifically refers to the ship or person engaged in bringing the prohibited liquor across the border or ashore. Rum runners were great sailors and hard to catch. When the Coast Guard got too close, rum runners would simply find other routes. They often managed to stay one step ahead of the law.

MOONSHINE - Moonshine is distilled liquor made in an unlicensed still. It gets its name from early smugglers and Appalachian distillers who secretly produced and distributed homemade whisky by moonlight. Also called hooch, mountain dew or white lightening, moonshine was big business during Prohibition. Agents who found and destroyed still during the 1920's were called "revenuers" as they initially were part of the IRS.

SPEAKEASIES - Speakeasies were illegal establishments that served beer, wine and alcohol during Prohibition. For a thirsty patron to enter one a secret password or special handshake or door knock was required. Within the walls of the speakeasies, a new culture arose. Women shed their corsets, smoked cigarettes and drank. Here also the "jazz age" blossomed. It was the era of Louis Armstrong, Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington and Hoagy Carmichael. Federal law enforcement had a full time job finding and busting speakeasies but they could never keep up.

 

THE POLITICS -

It was called the "Noble Experiment". It was an attempt by the government to stop people from drinking. The experiment didn't work and only propelled organized crime into wealth by supplying the thirsty public with illegal booze. It all started when under pressure from temperance groups and religious organizations, the United States Senate proposed the 18th Amendment. This was on December 18, 1917. It was ratified on January 16, 1919 and went into effect on January 16, 1920. The National Prohibition Act known as the Volstead Act passed through Congress on October 28, 1919. President Woodrow Wilson vetoed it but it was passed anyway. The government could hardly enforce it. By 1925, there were over 50,000 speakeasies in New York City alone. On December 5, 1933, under President Franklin Roosevelt , the 18th Amendment was repealed.

 

FAMOUS BOOTLEGGERS -

WILLIAM MCCOY - William McCoy was Prohibition's most famous rum runner. A teetotaler himself, Captain McCoy was proud of the fact that he never paid a dime to politicians, organized crime or law enforcement for protection. McCoy was a talented American sea captain who was thought of as an "honest lawbreaker". He was known as selling only clean uncut alcohol. Captain McCoy was captured on November 23, 1923 by the U.S. Coast Guard.

JOE KENNEDY - Though it was never proven that Joe Kennedy did something illegal, he was once known as the "Baptist Bootlegger". A businessman and father of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Joseph Kennedy made a lot of money during Prohibition. He was a client of Rocco Perri who along with his wife ran much of the bootlegging activity from Canada. The day Prohibition ended, Kennedy sold all his stock legally and made millions of dollars in profit.

AL CAPONE - Al Capone was the most notorious of all the bootleggers. He thrived on bootleg alcohol sales as well as prostitution, racketeering, gambling and other illegal activity. As a Chicago mobster, Capone built a bootlegging empire. He specialized in Canadian scotch whiskey and he simply bought off anyone who got in his way. Al Capone got a lot of press in those days and was almost seen as a national emblem.

JAY GATSBY - Jay Gatsby is a fictional character in F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby but he represents the lifestyle attained by prominent bootleggers during Prohibition. None of the other characters in the novel question his shady past but rather absorb the decadent society where wealth and status are king. Jay Gatsby's life is an allegory for a superficial time when you could get really rich really fast by smuggling booze.

 

The Bootlegger's Lament

I was going down the river to my little cabin home

The revenue man was waiting there for me

I was coming up the hill when they caught me with the still.

Now I'll see you when the roses bloom again.

They took me to the courthouse. The old judge was there.

He didn't show me any sympathy

Said "you were feeling very frisky when they caught you with the whiskey",

Now I'll see you when the roses bloom again.

They took me to the jailhouse to serve my ninety days

And now I'm on the county rolls to stay.

I was feeling very fine when they caught me with my wine.

Now I'll see you when the roses bloom again.

When the roses bloom again beside the river,

And the revenue men all have gone to rest,

Then I know I'll soon have wine, so be patient, pal of mine,

And I'll see you when the roses bloom again.

When the roses bloom again beside the river,

And the robin redbreast sings his melody,

Then my heart will fill with cheer for I know I'll soon have beer,

And I'll see you when the roses bloom again.

 

 

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