1)What Does This Source Tell You About the Effects of Alcohol?

Prohibition

1)What does this source tell you about the effects of alcohol?

2)This cartoon was produced for the Anti-Saloon League. How reliable do you think this interpretation is?

What were the effects of Prohibition?

Everyday, hardworking Americans were turned in to criminals.
Encouraged a growth in black market alcohol production (MOONSHINE) that could sometimes be dangerous.
Illegal bars (SPEAKEASIES) started to emerge and where often owned or ran by gangsters. By 1930 there were an estimated 250,000 speakeasies across America, 32,000 of which were in New York.
Speakeasies sold alcohol that was imported illegally from Canada or the West Indies by “bootleggers”.
These illegal operations were organised by gangs of criminals – ORGANISED CRIME.

Al Capone

Al Capone is probably one of the most famous gangsters of the era. Al Capone was born in Brooklyn in 1899; he was a descendent of an Italian immigrant. Al Capone (also known as “Scarface” due to a scar on his cheek) moved to Chicago. During the 1920s Al Capone was responsible for organising one of the largest gangs in America. His gang consisted of around 700 men. Al Capone and his gang made a lot of money from prohibition, in fact in 1927 Capone was said to have made around $60 million. Along with this wealth came violence. Between 1927-1930 500 gangland murders took place in Chicago alone. The most famous of these is the “St Valentines Day” massacre in 1929. Seven members of the “Bugs Moran” gang(the rivals of Al Capone) were killed.

Capone did not just make money from alcohol he also controlled drugs, prostitution and protection rackets.

Al Capone was arrested and imprisoned in 1931 on charges of tax evasion. Trying to find evidence against Capone was difficult as bribery was common during this period. Corruption existed within the police, courts, trade unions and even politics.

Why did Prohibition fail?

Alcohol = popular and profitable
Impossible to enforce the law – 1931 45,000 people imprisoned for alcohol related offences.
100 million people to monitor.
4,000 agents employed to stop bootlegging and close speakeasies – Elliot Ness.
Of these agents 10% were sacked for taking bribes.
29,000km of coastline to control.
1929 = Wall Street Crash. Other issues to focus on.

December 1933 – “Let’s all go out and have a drink.”

1)Copy the reasons why prohibition failed in toy your book.

2)Which of this do you think was the most important reason for its failure? Explain your answer.

3)Using the source and your own knowledge explain why the policy of prohibition was seen as a failure by the late 1920s.