The Book Bootleg By Karen Blumenthal
The book I decided to do a review on is called ‘Wet’ Wild Prohibition Days-Minnesota 13. This book was written by Elaine Davis and has a copyright date of 2007. The book is about the days of prohibition that happened back in 1920-1933. The focus is on the high quality illegal whiskey that was being made in Stearns County Minnesota that became known as “Minnesota 13”. Minnesota 13 was a quality aged whiskey that was both strong and safe to drink.
Daniel Okrent’s book Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition is a thorough history of the Prohibition era. Okrent’s narrative is an easy to follow and enjoyable read. During the first few pages of his book, Okrent clearly lays out the themes and ideas he will explore throughout. While Okrent demonstrates that January 17, 1920 brought Prohibition after the ratification of the 18th Amendment the year prior that banned the manufacturing, sale and transportation of alcohol, he also argues that the prohibition was far more complex than this amendment. Okrent argues that the 18th Amendment was a culmination of social and political movements, leading to the dryness of a country.
In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in America (Doc B). Prohibitionists overlooked the tenacious American tradition of strong drink and of weak control by the central government. Thus, there was tension between the modernists and the traditionalists. Although the amendment was passed, alcohol was still distributed illegally. Actually, prohibition spawned many crimes, such as illegal sale of alcohol and gang wars.
The men who created this law were not even following it. A deputy U.S Attorney General for Prohibition enforcement, Mabel Walker Willebrandt explains she is tired of the hypocrisy. It she showed by her asking “How can you have the heart to prosecute a bootlegger, send a man to jail for six months or a year for selling a pint or quart of whiskey, when you know for a fact that the men who make the laws.. Are themselves patronizing bootleggers?”
For example, people’s salary was spent on alcohol, led to physical abuse, sickness, and the hatred effects of drinking on families. Alcohol consumption would hurt workers’ efficiency, which some employers believed would happen. There were this movement which advocated the moderation or elimination of alcohol that were emerging from concerns it was called, “The Temperance Movement.” This movement were mainly led by women where two groups were created one in the year 1874 while the other in the year 1893 there names were the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League. This movement was supposed to only work out to cut alcohol consumption, but was later pressed for prohibition laws banning the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
As the roaring twenties reached their end the battle against alcohol in the United States is just arising to a turning point. With serious controversy over the Volstead Act the country was greatly divided. There was also the extreme rising occurrences of crime, the creation of gangs and a newly established, unorganized criminal justice system. Prohibition was a disaster across America and the more reforment from the government just made things worse.
Prohibition was a big problem in the 1920s, so big that the people in the U.S. started comparing alcohol to water. “WATER & ALCOHOL ALIKE IN APPEARANCE DIFFERENT IN EFFECT” as well was “WATER: Necessary to Life, Benefits the Body” and “ALCOHOL: Unnecessary to Life, Injures the Body” (Doc 13). The list goes on and on, based off of the polar opposite effects alcohol has on a person's life compared to water, proving that it can only damage the human body and the environment rather than build it up. Many people in the country were opposed to the 18th amendment that supported Prohibition and its use of alcohol to people of all ages.
During the prohibition there was a long fought war against people who illegally manufactured and distributed alcohol. The prohibition began in the early 1920's and ended in 1933. The prohibition banned the manufacture distribution and sale of alcohol. The law was passed for many reasons. Important names at the time including John D. Rockefeller said that drunken workers were bad for business.
Bootlegging started in the 1920’s in the U.S. history by doing illegal traffic in such as liquor in “violation of legislative restrictions on it manufacture, sale, or transportation.” The word “bootlegging” started in the Midwest around the 1800’s mainly to practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boot tops when trading with the Indians. The word became part of the American “Eighteenth Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution effected the “National prohibition of alcohol” but it also repeal in 1933.
On January 16, 1920, the 18th amendment was passed stating alcohol was illegal creating multiple problems in the United States. Although Prohibition seemed like a good idea at first, representing good health and morality, prohibition soon led to organized crime and gangs. Speakeasies, run by gangs and bootleggers, sold illegal and home-made alcohol. Bootleggers, getting their names from people soring alcohol in false legs, would run bars or taverns hidden from police. Organized crime grew and the gangs fought for control and kept their secrets by conquering any threats.
Part of the American economy was based on alcohol. Americans drank a lot of alcohol everyday. We also sold it and made a huge profit out of it. Many men and women started to realize what affect this could have on the economy and the affect it was already having on people. And so communities started to ban alcohol.
During the 1800’s, American citizens started reform movements in an attempt to help make the country a better place. One of the most important movements was the temperance movement. The temperance movement was in between the years of 1830-1840 and focused on eliminating the use of alcoholic beverages. During this time, alcohol was causing more problems than any other behavior; like crime, disorder, and poverty. This resulted in many social changes, for example, the rise of industrial production and breakdown of apprentice system.
Bootlegging was defined as the illegal making, selling, or transportation of alcohol. It was a very popular and perilous business. Only the most intelligent and least flamboyant people avoided prison. However, in most cases the excessive wealth and materialism lead to many people’s imprisonment or downfall (Vasquez, 2014). Despite being well aware of the risk, Capone only had one intention: make the operation bigger than what it already was.
The Temperance Movement, starting in 1808, was the first significant attempt to outlaw alcohol. Members of the movement believed alcohol was unconstitutional and caused family violence and crime. In 1900, Carry Nation, who believed saloons were associated with gambling, prostitution, and violence, organized the destruction of many saloons and was arrested. Later in twentieth century came the Prohibition Movement. Supporters thought the poor were wasting their limited money at saloons, and industrial leaders believed a ban on alcohol would increase productivity of workers.
The 1920s, commonly referred to as the “Roaring Twenties”, is generally viewed as a time period of economic prosperity and extravagant living. However, these stereotypes were not the reality for many Americans and such illusions hid the deep cultural conflict that was bubbling beneath the surface. New, liberal ideals began to rise to the surfaces that conflicted with the traditional, conservative beliefs held by many Americans. The 1920s became a “cultural battlefield”, to quote Professor Mintz, with people clashing over such issues as immigration, alcohol, race, and evolution. A “cultural civil war” ensured as some supported the resulting “liberation” from America’s past, while others objected to the “decaying” morals that supposedly accompanied such changes.
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