subject: How Has Bootlegging Affected Us? [print this page] We all know that our country went through the Prohibition, that our predecessors were to be denied their pleasures when it came to the drink. In light of the recent film, Lawless, we have a first hand look at the Prohibition period of the 1920s and how a family tried to make the most out of breaking the law and bootlegging moonshine.
But what other effects did it have on us as a country? Why was it repealed? How did people get any help for alcoholism when all the self help agencies shut down?
It is reported that the average US citizen would spend $17 a year on alcohol and after the implementation of Prohibition, the amount rose to $35 a year due to the unavailability of the product. It was also noted that since the Volstead Act did not say there could be no consumption, many cellars were stocked with alcohol purchased before the act went into effect. It did not stop the consumption, which was the goal of the exercise. Authorities had hoped that cutting off the supply of intoxicating beverages would force people to live a cleaner lifestyle and they would be all the more healthy.
But, that is not what happened. While the saloons dried up and closed, underground facilities were hopping with business. Prohibition put power into the hands of the gangsters, like the band led by Al Capone. He is one of the most famous of all gang leaders and was headquartered in Chicago. Those who didnt have the clubs to go to made their own, called Moonshine, and would sell their wares to others in their same predicament. Some were found out, some werent.
Jazz was a byproduct of the period of Prohibition. The clubs were referred to as the Speakeasies and generally featured African American singers or musicians in front of white audiences. These places were often in the control of the gangsters and not the average citizen and thus homesteads throughout the country were popping up with illegal stills. If they were not buying moonshine, there were places to go since not all states were participating. Passing over state lines or even a countrys boundaries was common and nothing was ever done about the constant breaking of the law outside of the US.
The other big development our country saw was the very beginnings of NASCAR. It is said that the special modifications of cars that would deliver moonshine inspired the sport of car racing. Having a great car that would outrun the law enforcement was an essential tool that the good distributors possessed. The times of speeding through the backroads and down on the beaches to avoid capture is what brings us a sport that America loves.
In seeing Lawless, it brings a new dimension of our history to light that we all know is there, but not really experienced. It was a hard time when merchants and breweries lost massive amounts of money. Where it isnt an epic adaptation of life like the movie The Untouchables was, it does lend insight to how life was during that tough period in time.
