Prohibition
Not only I, but America as a whole are dumbfounded about the ratification of the 18th amendment. The day is marked in history January 17th, 1919 the day the government TRIED to get America to stop drinking “toxic liquors”, even though the actual prohibition took action a year later, January 17th 1920. Even though prohibition is absurd, the government claims have had good intentions when ratifying the 18th amendment. Apparently, government officials thought that prohibition would lower crime rates, and better our health. These weak incentives are not going to stop us Americans from drinking. Three years later and prohibition is still around, but we have seemed to find a way around prohibition. The 18th amendment prohibits any manufacturing, sale, or transportation of “toxic liquors”, but not the consumption or possession of these “toxic liquors”. This is where bootlegging came into place. Al Capone was isn’t necessarily a bootlegger, but bootlegger boss. Al Capone is one of the the biggest know American mobsters right now. Capone also has the nickname of “Scarface”. Handling and transporting liquor is just one of the many things Al Capone is infamously known for. He is also an American mobster, crime boss, a businessman who has infamous reputation during this (Prohibition) era for being the the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. The Chicago Outfit is the branch of the city mafia that is made up of Italian Americans, they dated to the beer. One of the goals of this prohibition is to lower crime rates, but it seems that crime has actually gone up, especially in bootlegging, in speakeasies too. Speakeasies are illicit places like nightclubs that sell liquor. Speakeasies are also called blind pigs, or blind tigers. Blind pigs are very popular during prohibition since no can drink alcohol.
A Lot of the illicit clubs and speakeasies usually contain nights of dancing and playing jazz music, so there are usually flappers and drunk men in these nightclubs. There is also often prostitution going on in these night clubs, usually between flappers and wealthy men. Even though the goal of prohibition is to lower crime rates and help citizens get healthier, it seemed to to do the exact opposite. It’s almost as of we want to drink more now that the government has tried to take away our freedom to drink. Not only have more mafias and infamous businesses have become more lucrative, but more crime is being committed through bootleggers.
- Tajah Guilaume
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