As early as the colonial era, the consumption of alcoholic beverages was a contentious issue in America. Drunkenness was generally frowned upon, and certain sectors of society believed that alcohol was nothing short of the devil’s juice. Tensions came to a head in the early 20th century, when the temperance movement (which advocated for moderation in all things), supported by groups such as the Anti-Saloon League, the National Prohibition Party, and women suffragists, convinced lawmakers to curtail what they saw as the calamitous and ungodly effects of alcohol.
The result was the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. One year after the ratification, the prohibition of alcohol in the United States began, and breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the country were shuttered. Initially, the signs were positive. There was a significant reduction in alcohol consumption, booze-related hospitalizations declined, and there were notably fewer crimes related to drunkenness. But one thing never changed: Many people still enjoyed an occasional drink and weren’t willing to live completely dry lives. Enter bootleggers, speakeasies, and organized crime. The Prohibition era lasted until 1933, and marked a period of colorful characters, clandestine operations, and government corruption. Here are seven facts from this fascinating time in U.S. history.
It wasn’t actually illegal to drink alcohol
The 18th Amendment prohibited “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” within the United States, but it didn’t ban the consumption of alcohol at home. So, during the one-year grace period before Prohibition began, people — those who could afford it, at least — began stockpiling wine and liquor while it was still legal to buy. Once the cellars had been stocked and Prohibition began, there was a notable rise in home entertaining and dinner parties — a shift that transformed America’s drinking culture in a way that’s still felt to this day.
Prohibition had lots of loopholes
Despite the constitutional law, certain legal loopholes existed that facilitated the acquisition of alcohol. Doctors could prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes, making a friendly neighborhood pharmacist a handy source of booze — not to mention an ideal front for bootlegging operations. Religious congregations were allowed to purchase communion wine, which led to an increase in church enrollment. Winemakers, meanwhile, began selling “wine bricks,” rectangular packages of entirely legal concentrated grape juice that could be used to make wine at home. The packaging even came with a handy “warning”: “After dissolving the brick in a gallon of water, do not place the liquid in a jug away in the cupboard for twenty days, because then it would turn into wine.”
Tainted booze killed thousands
The main source of liquor during Prohibition was industrial alcohol, the kind of stuff used to make ink, perfume, and camp stove fuel. Bootleggers could make about 3 gallons of barely drinkable — and dangerous — “gin” or “whiskey” from 1 gallon of industrial alcohol. But industrial alcohol was denatured, meaning it had additives to make it foul-smelling, awful-tasting, and poisonous. And while bootleggers found a way to recondition the denatured alcohol into cheap booze — colloquially known as “rotgut” — that was drinkable, it was still capable of causing blindness or death. On average, about 1,000 Americans died every year during the Prohibition era from drinking tainted liquor. Many estimates put the number even higher, with up to 50,000 total deaths from unsafe alcohol during Prohibition.
Congress had its own bootlegger
Like thousands of other Americans, congresspeople and senators, including many of those who had voted in favor of Prohibition, often sought out illegal alcohol. One of their main suppliers was a bootlegger named George Cassiday, who started off supplying hooch to two House of Representatives members. Demand for his services soon increased, and before long he was making 25 deliveries a day to House and Senate offices. A dapper gentleman, Cassiday was easily recognized by his emerald fedora, and soon became known as the “man in the green hat.” He was arrested in 1930 and sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was allowed to sign out every night and return the next morning during his time in jail. The same year he was arrested, Cassiday wrote a series of articles for The Washington Post in which he estimated that 80% of Congress drank illegally.
Capone’s brother was a Prohibition enforcement agent
Al Capone was the most famous of all the gangsters who came to prominence during the Prohibition era. Capone’s brothers Frank and Ralph were also mobsters. Then there was James Vincenzo Capone, the oldest of the Capone brothers, who later changed his name to Richard James Hart. He took a decidedly different path than his siblings: He became a Prohibition agent. He was, by most accounts, a daring and effective law enforcer, whose tendency to carry two ivory-handled pistols earned him the nickname “Two-Gun” Hart.
Prohibition’s end made US Constitutional history
Prohibition was, ultimately, a failure. At least half of the adult population wanted to carry on drinking, the policing of Prohibition was marred by contradictions and corruption, and with no actual ban on consumption, the whole thing became untenable. So, on December 5, 1933, the 18th Amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment, bringing about the end of the Prohibition era. The 18th Amendment made constitutional history, becoming the first — and, to this day, only — constitutional amendment to be repealed in its entirety.
You can still vote for the Prohibition Party
If for some reason you yearn for the days of Prohibition, you can always vote for the Prohibition Party. Yes, the anti-alcohol party, formed in 1869, still exists. Not only has it championed the cause of temperance for more than 150 years, but it’s also the oldest existing third party in the United States. And while the Democrats have their donkey and the Republicans their elephant, the Prohibition Party’s mascot is the camel — an animal that can survive without drinking for almost seven months.
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