Bootleggers and Speakeasies

Nathan Wakefield

The 1920’s was a decade filled with history, a big part of it started with the 18th amendment. The 18th amendment was a ban on alcohol. People like George Remus and Dean O'Banion look at the amendment as a joke and sold alcohol illegally. Many people in different mobs participated in this illegal act known as bootlegging.

Bootlegging was the beginning of organized crime. Bootleggers would make there own alcohol and sell it at the speakeasy. They would hide the alcohol in there boots hints the name “bootleggers” This illegal act was a good way to make money, but a dangerous job once the mobs started to claim territories to sell the alcohol.

George remus was one of the best criminal attorneys in the midwest. He was a defence attorney of 20 years in chicago, his job provided knowledge about the ins and outs of the illegal acts. Ramus became enormously successful bootlegger by buying distilleries and creating his own drug company. He sold to both buyer and seller.

Bootleggers continued their illegal act for many years, they did it as a protest against the 18th amendment or just to make money for their mob. Bootleggers changed the way crime was committed which led to organized crime.

Work Cited

"Prohibition." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Bootlegging." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 June 2009. Web. 02 Feb. 2017.

Sydney Markowicz

Speakeasies seemed like really cool places! Did you know that there were hundreds of hidden speakeasies all over the country in the 1920’s. These were opened up after the 18th amendment was passed, which made the consumption of alcohol illegal. People were not about to give up drinking just because a law was passed.

Most of the clubs were runned by gangsters. Everyone went to the clubs but they had to keep it a secret or it would be shut down. They had to remember a password to get in. If you didn’t know it, you would not be let in. The clubs, were very smart on hiding things. If someone wanted to get in, they could turn the inside wall around with all the drinks on it to look like books. That was one of the main tricks they used. Many of them had hidden doors which looked like ordinary objects such as refrigerator or a wardrobe. They also hid them in ‘’stores’’. They would have a normal looking store and have a hidden club somewhere in it. Normally everyone also had to be quiet so that they would not alert the neighbors or the police.

One famous speakeasy was the Cotton Club located in New York on 142nd street. Everyone went to this club, even many famous people. The Cotton Club was a huge hit when there was live entertainment. There were only a few clubs with live entertainment because many were worried about the noise level. The only way the alcohol got there was from bootleggers. Bootleggers were people who made,and sold or transported illegal alcohol. People were not willing to give up drinking alcohol whether it was legal or not.

Works Cited

Carlson, Peter. "A capitol offense: Congress enacted Prohibition but lawmakers didn't go dry, thanks to bootlegger George Cassiday--the 'Man in the Green Hat'--who set up shop on Capitol Hill." American History, vol. 50, no. 2, 2015, p. 44+. U.S. History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A406708835/UHIC?u=pl2634&xid=03db9401. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.

Pillsbury, Stanley R. "Speakeasy." Dictionary of American History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 7, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 492-493. U.S. History in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3401803980/UHIC?u=pl2634&xid=3923ecfb. Accessed 24 Jan. 2017.