The Prohibition Era Explained: Rare Footage Released 100 Years On скачать в хорошем качестве

The Prohibition Era Explained: Rare Footage Released 100 Years On

One hundred years ago the 18th Amendment – banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages – came into force in the United States. Prohibition led to social changes that would help define the ‘Roaring 20s’, and ushered in an era of speakeasies, bootleggers and organized crime. The Origins Of Prohibition: Fuelled by a new wave of religious fervour, the so-called temperance movement gained ground in many US states over the course of the 19th century. It saw saloon culture as corrupt and ungodly, and pointed to the destructive effects of alcohol on families. Rapid industrialisation also led to factory owners supporting the ban, in a bid to reduce accidents and increase the efficiency of their workforce. Soon after the USA entered the First World War in 1917, a temporary prohibition measure was introduced to preserve surplus grain. The same year, Congress submitted the 18th Amendment, proposing a permanent ban on intoxicating liquors. It quickly gained widespread support. Ratified on January 16, 1919, ‘The Volstead Act’ went into effect a year later. Enforcing the Law: Enforcing the new legislation proved to be an insurmountable problem for the authorities. The earliest bootleggers began smuggling foreign-made commercial liquor across the Canadian and Mexican borders. There was also a steady supply from the Bahamas and Cuba. Many rum-running ships would rendezvous opposite Atlantic City, New Jersey, at a point just outside the boundary of US jurisdiction. The bootleggers unloaded their goods onto faster boats that were built to outrace coast guard cutters. This trade, along with the liquor produced by concealed distilleries, gave rise to speakeasies – illegal bars and nightclubs where the drinks flowed freely. It was a lucrative business that organised criminals soon monopolised. Among the many gangsters who achieved legendary status during the period, Al Capone in Chicago was believed to have amassed a fortune of $100 million from bootlegging by 1927. His men are believed to have been behind the bloody St Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, when seven rival gang members were lined up and shot by men posing as police officers. The American Mafia crime syndicate was born from the coordinated activities of Italian bootleggers in New York in the 20s and 30s. The End of Prohibtion: The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was the trigger for economic collapse and soon after, the Great Depression. A growing realisation that the Volstead Act was unenforceable was matched by a need to create thousands of new jobs and legitimate sources of revenue. The appeal of legalising the liquor industry was undeniable. Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for president in 1932 on a platform calling for Prohibition’s end, and easily defeated the incumbent President Herbert Hoover. Congress adopted a resolution proposing a 21st Amendment to the Constitution that would repeal the 18th, and it was ratified in December 1933. While most celebrated the end of the ban – some states continued to uphold it well into the 60s – the Prohibition era had changed the face of American society forever. #Prohibition #Explained #AlCapone Subscribe here:   bit.ly/odnsubs   Twitter:   / odn   Facebook:   / odn   If you wish to purchase any of our clips for commercial use, please visit:   itnproductions.co.uk/news/