The Prohibition Era - The Highs and the lows of the Roaring twenties and beyond

Have a little read: ... Graham Knight May-June 2001 The Prohibition Era The Highs and the lows of the Roaring twenties and beyond Introduction Hard though it may be to believe, there was a time when alcohol was prohibited and to be in possession of it considered a crime in the United States. However, on the sixteenth of January 1920, this became law. The selling, manufacturing and transportation of intoxicating liquids became illegal and a crime. At the time Prohibition was going to be the golden age, it would create a dry world, free of crime and poverty. Instead it created almost the opposite, America sunk to an all time low, eventually falling into a dark age of organised crime and bootlegging. Yet it wasn't all bad, first came the roaring twenties, people were again enjoying themselves and it seemed everyone was happy. The Roaring Twenties During the nineteen twenties the American public were having the time of there lives. Everyone was happy. Despite of the law that banned alcohol, people ignored it; they went on like nothing had happened, if anything the public drank more. Throughout the major cities and towns underground saloons or speakeasies were opening. People would be able to go out, have a drink and enjoy themselves. Often the owners of these speakeasies would provide entertainment and music for their guests. They of course were not worried about being caught by the police, as even in these early years corruption was creeping into the ranks of the police force. Enforcement During these times it was difficult to enforce the law, as there were not enough police officers to do so. It didn't help that police were needed to police the police due to the inevitable corruption that officers were being drawn to. Many officers were able to earn more in one night from the owner of a speakeasy to keep them covered, than the police force would pay them for a whole month or sometimes even more. It was possible for owner to do this as they were earning enough money to pay a few police officers a little money, to tern the other way as it were. Many did do their jobs with some honour. In 1925 alone, over one million gallons of liquor and over seven million gallons of beer were confiscated. Although these figures seem a lot, at the time it was likely to only be a fraction of the alcohol that