Prohibition and the Speakeasies
The 1920's where action packed with all different types of new inventions, people traveling into uncharted territory's. Although it was a time of innovation people still wanted to drink and there where laws in place to prohibit such illegal actions. These laws used to keep crime rates low but as people started throwing caution to the wind the crime rates sky rocketed. his was the prohibition of alcohol in the United States and Canada,
commonly referred to as Prohibition. People were not willing to accept
these terms, and so the birth of the “speakeasy” came to the spot light.
Speakeasies were quite popular but because they where underground trades and illegal activity going on they where hidden sections of an establishment. They had code words as entry passwords, to verfie you where a customer not a undercover cop or such. For the most part though the cops knew where they where but did not turn them in on the account that they wanted to drink and have as well. These cops where often payed off with free booze. The Speakeasies environment consisted of yes illegal substances and trades but also dancing & singing. For the most part they where discrete fun places to be, they are like modern day clubs.
The term "Speakeasies" came from the bartenders because they said bars where places to speak easy. They never used official names of drinks when it came to purchasing. For example they had code names for all the drinks that include: coffin varnish, white mule, horse liniment, monkey rum,panther sweat, rot gut, and tarantula juice.
These places where often ran by gangs because nothing could be official which made coming into one of these places a gamble. There was competition between the different places. It was there product many people made a lot of money off these underground trading systems. Although these places where kept on the down low they where everywhere throughout the US and Canada.
Not only code words where used but real safety precautions. For example, Manhattans “21” club was probably the most secure club, with four safety
switches that could be used during a raid to short circuit and cut the
access to all of the doors that contained alcohol.
Speakeasies were established because of the Volstead Act. The Volstead
Act was the act in which the prohibition of alcohol was enforced. Not
long after the Act was put in place, people started hustling alcohol
into illegal and concealed saloons. The provider of the alcohol would
become very wealthy, as many people felt the need to indulge in
alcoholic beverages. Therefore many gangsters and criminals or even just
regular people found hustling illegal beverages a very profitable act.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakeasy
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-prohibitionspeakeasy/
http://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/the-prohibition-underworld/speakeasies/
This is a very interesting post that clearly explains what a speakeasy was and what kind of influence it had. Speakeasies were a large part of this era, and they really seem to symbolize the sense of rebellion that many people experienced during the twenties. The 1920's are often viewed positively, as a time of growth and excitement, and for many people, speakeasies actually seemed to enforce this idea. However, it is interesting to think about how speakeasies were an example of a lack of respect for and enforcement of certain laws in the country, which is not positive and has the potential to be very dangerous to many people. While many people may have viewed Prohibition as an act that was taking away their liberties, their refusal to comply with the law and ability to get away with it, by bribing authorities, also put the liberties of Americans at risk in another sense.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/aug/26/lawless-prohibition-gangsters-speakeasies
http://www.history.com/topics/prohibition