Gangsters and Prohibition

1. Gangsters and Prohibition 1920s Write the main idea of each slide.

2. Prohibition The Prohibition era lasted from 1920 through 1933, and was an attempt to legislate morality. It took a Constitutional amendment to enact it, and another one to repeal it. The attempt to decrease the "evils" of alcohol actually created more - and new - types of crime.

4. WWI Temperance movements had swept through portions of the United States throughout the 19th century, but it was World War I that provided the first opportunity for the anti-alcohol movement to enact a national ban on alcohol. Anti-alcohol sentiment in Congress led to legislation known as the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act of 1917, which regulated food, fuel, and other commodities that might be needed for the war effort. It was argued that the grains needed to distill alcohol were needed as food and were in short supply because of the needs of the war. This effectively shut down the country's breweries and distilleries temporarily.

5. Results of Prohibition By the time of the repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933, it was obvious that the measure was a failure. Instead of promoting the nation's health and hygiene, the opposite was true as the illegal manufacture of alcohol filled part of the void, and those illegal products were often dangerous or much higher in alcohol content than the beer, wines and spirits they replaced

6. Results cont’d . Crime also increased, since illegal activity was required to market the illegal alcohol. Criminal activity became organized and led to the rise of powerful crime syndicates that used murder, and the bribery of public officials and even law enforcement officers, to move large quantities of the illegal substance. Drug use increased, with drugs taking the place of alcohol.

7. Results cont’d Worker productivity did not increase. Jails filled with people convicted of relatively minor infractions of the alcohol ban. Enforcement of the ban cost millions of dollars. Congress repealed the 18th Amendment with the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933. As a result of the legalization of alcohol, crime was actually reduced and many new jobs were created as the liquor industry expanded. This was especially important in the Depression years that began with the Stock Market crash in 1929 and lasted into the late 1930s.

8. It all started in the 1920's. . . From Al Capone and Lucky Luciano to John Gotti and Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, organized crime characters have built their reputations as rebellious, dangerous, and "well-dressed" business men.

10. Organized Crime With the passage of alcohol Prohibition (18th Amendment) in 1919, America became a powder keg of organized crime. The men and women with the guts and means to break the law stood to gain the most, also became the superstars of film and novels. Characters like F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, or James Cagney's Tom Powers in the great gangster movie The Public Enemy became the well-dressed icons of 1920s mobster culture. Black markets popped up around the country, speakeasies became popular destinations for those who wished to drink, listen to jazz, dance and have fun.

11. Modern Symbols Entire police forces seemed to be stuck in the deep pockets of men like Capone and Owney Madden. All the while this was being played out right under the nose of the American government. It's no wonder gangsters have become the symbol for defiance and success for "the regular guy". And "the gangster" remains a symbol of hard-won success and the criminal's "code of ethics" in movies and in music The mobster movie genre is filled with well-heeled and handsome stars who always get the girls, always make the money, and always go out with a bang.