An Era Of Distinct Effects in American Culture Due to The Prohibition

Prohibition began after World War I as an attempt to legislate morality and bring crime rates down.

It was a time characterized by speakeasies, glamor, flappers, jazz music, and gangsters, and a period of time in which even the average citizen broke the law. The criminalization of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in 1920, known as Prohibition, lead to the establishment of speakeasies, which were hidden sections of an establishment where gangsters illegally scold alcoholic beverages. The Nation Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, provided great power and wealth on the gangsters who defied it to supply rum, whisky and beer.

Drinking alcohol in speakeasies became a pastime most Americans had in common, which contributed to the Roaring Twenties break down of social barriers. Along with the breakdown of social barriers came a new a time of change and freedom for women due to the Prohibition. Women began to rebel against social order, which became apparent in their new style.

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They would smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, listen to jazz, and dance at speakeasies. This new kind of woman became known as the flapper. The Prohibition lead to unintended consequences, which caused a cultural movement known as the Roaring Twenties. Historians believe World War I’s destruction of social order and increase in production and economic stimulation were the main causes of the Roaring Twenties, however, the Roaring Twenties would not have occurred without the Prohibition’s effects on a new American culture.

The criminalization of alcohol in 1920, established by the National Prohibition Act of 1919, and informally known as the Volstead Act, was an attempt to legislate morality and bring crime rates down. Some argued that alcohol had a negative effect on family life, and bosses were worried about workers being drunk on the job. Temperance societies began to spring up as people began to argue that Americans were drinking too much. However, instead of preventing crime and consumption, it caused a huge spike in alcohol related gang activity and widespread drinking. A law that was supposed to bring crime rates down ironically caused a cultural movement where even the average citizen broke the law. Police intervention went down as Prohibition related crime rates went up, which made buying, selling, and consuming alcohol even easier. Many men on the police force did not support Prohibition, and some even took bribes from gangsters to keep their illegal alcohol operations running underground. “Much of the population had contempt for law enforcement during 1920s' Prohibition. Chicago’s Al Capone and his organization were considered glamorous figures; supposedly, half the city’s police were on their payroll.”

Every major city had its gangster element, but the most famous was Chicago with Al Capone. Due to Prohibition, Capone earned $60 million a year from alcohol sales, and another $45 million a year from other crimes. He smuggled liquor into the U.S. with the help of men called “rumrunners.” Ships containing rum from the Caribbean waited outside U.S. waters, where they were met by boats that would transport liquor to U.S. shores. The prohibition had created a culture of smuggling and bribery. Capone’s bribery was evident, spending $75 million on bribing the police and politicians of Chicago in order to keep his business running. Political cartoons were created in opposition to bribery, but made no significant change.

Figure 1: Too Often the Case

Bribery was too much of an influence in the culture of the Roaring Twenties. A another large part of the Roaring Twenties was the glamorization of gangsters such as Capone. During the Roaring Twenties, gangsters acquired a high status in American society. Everybody who was trying to reach the American dream looked up to gangsters who lived the lavish lifestyle that embodied the era.

The Speakeasy culture spread all over the nation as a rebuttal against authority, but was especially prevalent in New York. The area between 45th and 52nd street on 5th and 6th avenues was booming with speakeasies, where almost every single building contained illegal liquor. The Volstead Act provided great power and wealth on the gangsters who defied it to supply rum, whisky and beer to them. Illegal drinking had become a part of everyday life and American culture.

By 1925 there were over 100,000 speakeasies in New York City alone. Mob bosses opened plush nightclubs with exotic floorshows and the hottest bands. At Small's Paradise in Harlem, waiters danced the Charleston, carrying trays loaded down with cocktails. Popular stars like Fred and Adele Astaire entertained at The Trocadero. And at the Cotton Club, Duke Ellington led the house band as tap dancer Bojangles Robinson and jazz singer Ethel Waters packed the house. Out in rural America, on Midwestern college campuses, kids drank "bathtub gin" and danced to the hot jazz of Bix and the Wolverines in lakeside pavilions.

The staggering number of underground establishments exemplifies the extent of the effect of speakeasies on American culture.

Another prominent feature of the roaring twenties caused by the Prohibition was the break down of social barriers. Speakeasies became a huge part of American culture and the Roaring Twenties, involving an array of citizens from bankers to college students. “In many New York speakeasies, rich people and ordinary folks, men and women, all rubbed shoulders. They had two goals in common—getting their hands on the best illegal liquor around, and avoiding a ride to the police station in a paddy wagon.” Drinking became a pastime most Americans had in common, further promoting the unity felt among Americans during the Roaring Twenties.

The Roaring Twenties also became a time of change and freedom for women due to the Prohibition. Women began to rebel against social order, which became apparent in their new style. “From these liberating circumstances emerged a caricature: the flapper, symbol of the modern woman, evincing new freedom most obviously through her dress.” The bobbed hairstyle, short dresses, and red lipstick quickly became popular trends. Flappers, who were women who showed disdain for conventional dress and behavior, became 1920s icons. They would smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, listen to jazz, and dance at speakeasies, exemplifying how speakeasies, caused by Prohibition, had a huge cultural effect. Mrs. Dupuy, a woman during the Prohibition Era states, "Yes, girls do smoke, and there is no harm if they don't go to excess. It is not like the rush of girls to the cafés to drink, which happened twenty years ago. It was that which brought about prohibition." The Prohibition brought about a new type of woman, and it was apparent that women would no longer conform to what was considered socially acceptable.

This rebellion against “proper behavior” during the Roaring Twenties was seen apparently throughout popular culture. Movies featured romance, scantily dressed women, revealing magazines and novels, and the creation of jazz music. Jazz became popular due to its presence in speakeasies, and quickly became a huge part of 1920s Prohibition culture. It originated in New Orleans in the early 1900s.

As more employment opportunities opened up in the North, both black and white musicians moved from New Orleans to Chicago. Prohibition and the popularity of speakeasies created many opportunities for musicians in small cabarets, dance halls and ballrooms, which were filled with provocative dancing such as the Charleston and Foxtrot. “Dancing moved from decorous, well-lit ballrooms to new venues-night-clubs, roadhouses, and private parties- where couples were unchaperoned and unsupervised.” This type of behavior outraged many, which was seen in many newspaper articles. "The music is sensuous, the female is only half dressed and the motions may not be described in a family newspaper. Suffice it to say that there are certain houses appropriate for such dances but these houses have been closed by law.” Despite opposition, jazz and provocative dancing became a marker of culture during the Roaring Twenties.

Some historians believe World War I’s destruction of social order and increase in production and economic stimulation were the main causes of the roaring twenties. After World War I, Americans looked for a way to rebel against authority due to the war’s destruction of old social orders. “This assertion, though it flew in the face of history and human nature, was temporarily successful because it was carried out by the drys with major organizing gifts and incredible zeal and because it was linked with a passion for reform that swept the country.” Americans were searching for a reformed way of life. A new sense of freedom and unity swept the nation due to the war, which sparked a new cultural movement known as the Roaring Twenties.

Another reason some believe World War I caused the roaring twenties was the transition from a wartime economy to an industrial economy. During World War I, the economy boomed due to production of weapons. This economic boom continued once the country transitioned from wartime to peacetime, however, household appliances instead of military weapons were produced. “Technology played a vital part in delivering the economic and cultural good times that most of America enjoyed during the 1920s.” People were buying new cars, radios, and dishwashers, and other appliances that they didn’t necessarily need. “Every home was a market for electrical appliances of all kinds—refrigerators—washing machines—vacuum cleaners, etc. Advertising convinced Americans they needed products, some of which they had never heard of before. Electricity production soared throughout the 1920s' decade as more of the United States joined the electric grid, and most coal powered industries switched to electricity.” By the mid-1920s, even working-class families could afford a Model T Ford. Increasing demand for the automobile in turn trickled down to many other industries. As technology became a part of people’s lives, the standard of living changed dramatically. It had become a period of indulgence and good times.

Although destruction of social order and increase in production and economic stimulation contributed to the Roaring Twenties, they were not the main cause. The Roaring Twenties was a period characterized by speakeasies, glamor, flappers, jazz music, gangsters, and law breaking; it was not simply a period of economic prosperity and rebellion against authority cause by Word War I. The effects of World War I were not drastic enough to cause such a large cultural movement. The Prohibition caused many, if not all, of the factors that marked the Roaring Twenties, especially with the establishment of speakeasies. The establishment of speakeasies created a culture of mass law breaking that clearly defined the time period as one of changing social roles and reform. Due to Prohibition, alcohol ran rampant, and provocative music and dancing came into play, which were all part of the cultural changes present during the Roaring Twenties. Speakeasies and the demand for liquor also caused organized crime and brought wealth to gangsters, which was another marker of the Roaring Twenties. The Prohibition created an era of distinct effects on a new American culture.