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Both "speakeasies" and "bootleggers" were products of "Prohibition", established to outlaw the production, sale, and transport of "intoxicating liquors" (alcoholic products and beverages) by the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratification certified 16 January 1919; the amendment took effect 17 January 1920). The enforcement of Prohibition was provided for by Congress via the National Prohibition Act (hence the name Prohibition); the Act was also known as the "Volstead Act" in reference to Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation's progress through Congress.

Prohibition spawned "speakeasies", or illegal drinking establishments, and "bootleggers", or providers of illicit alcohol products, in great numbers throughout the country. These were both a reaction to the continued demand for alcohol by a large majority of the citizenry despite any legal prohibition to the contrary, and represented some of the most visible of the many entrepreneurial business efforts to supply said demand. The widespread disregard for this law of the land ("speakeasies" proliferated in virtually every city, town, and village in the country, while "bootleggers" were even more widespread, and large-scale such operations spawned much of the great potency of---as well as the establishment of much of the initial funding enjoyed by---organized crime organizations; some of the same criminal organizations whose rise was rooted in Prohibition continue to plague America to the present day) and the total lack of success in the objectives of Prohibition resulted in even some of it's most ardent supporters calling for it's repeal. In what remains the only instance of a Constitutional Amendment being reversed, Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment (ratified 5 March 1933).

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Related Questions

Did prohibition harm or benefit America?

It harmed America because it led to the formation of the organized crime syndicate in the United States.


Who made money from Prohibition?

Bootleggers and organized crime.


Why did crime rates increase during prohibition 1900s?

The crime rate soared and organized crime grew rapidly.


What event or periods experienced the greatest increase in organized crime in the United States?

the Prohibition Erathe Prohibition Era


Which development contributed to the end of Prohibition?

The rise of organized crime during the period


Al Capone and his undermining of the support for Prohibition?

The violence of Al Capone and other organized crime leaders reduced support for Prohibition.


One result of prohibition during the 1920 was?

The enormous growth of organized crime.


What social conditions led to the rise of organized crime in America?

temperance/ no alcohol


What did Womans Christian Temperance Accomplish?

the Prohibition and through that, the rise to power of organized crime.


How did the Prohibition lead to organized crime?

Prohibition banned the sale and production of alcohol, creating a lucrative black market for bootleggers. Organized crime groups took advantage of this demand, with figures like Al Capone becoming wealthy and powerful by supplying illegal alcohol. The violence and corruption associated with Prohibition led to the rise of organized crime syndicates in major cities across the United States.


Cause and effect pairing of the events that occurred during the 1920's?

prohibition and the rise of organized crime


What are unintended negative consequences of Prohibition?

The rapid rise in organized crime to meet the high demand for alcoholic beverages was an unanticipated consequence of National Prohibition in the US.