Bootlegging free essay sample

After the eighteenth amendment went into effect, the quickest way to make money was through the illegal production and smuggling of alcohol. Smuggling created the infamous gangsters who made their fortunes from the moonshine. The greatest contributor of wealth and crime of the 1920’s in the United States was brought about by the illegal production of alcohol, or bootlegging. History shows that alcohol production became such an important aspect of American life that the population depended on it. The origins of alcohol production can be traced back to 6000 B. C. where it was produced in the forms of wine and beer to substitute clean water (â€Å"History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Due to the difficulty of hauling grain to markets, farmers were able to profit more from turning their crops into alcohol, rather than selling the grain at markets. The colonists’ main concern when coming to the new world was water sources (Lieurance). Therefore, alcoholic beverages were brought in mass q uantities in order to substitute water if needed (â€Å"Rumrunning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). We will write a custom essay sample on Bootlegging or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The alcohol of the early America could be used as currency, at special events or for medical remedies. In the colonial days, doctors felt that alcoholic beverages were needed to help people stay healthy. † In the late eighteenth century, in America, there was a heavy tax on alcohol, so a rebellion broke out which was known as the Whiskey Rebellion (Lieurance). Illegal alcohol was given the name moonshine because it was often made at night by the moonlight (â€Å"History†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). The initial prohibition, which led to the Eighteenth Amendment, was started for a variety of reasons. The initial surge of prohibition came due to public drunkenness and nativism against the very alcoholic Europe. When national prohibition went into effect on January 16, 1920, it did not affect religious or medicinal alcohol. Many people believed that teaching people of the dangers of alcohol was better than full out prohibition. The Temperance groups that helped bring about prohibition include the WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union), the MSSI (Massachusetts Society for Suppression of Intemperance), and the Anti-Saloon League. During WWI, alcohol production was considered a waste of fruits and grains while troops were in need of food (Lieurance). Prohibition destroyed many of the breweries in America and took away from government revenue and was finally ended on December 5, 1933. â€Å"Critics argue that the Amendment failed to eliminate drinking,†¦spawned organized crime, and led beer drinkers to hard liquor† (â€Å"The Jazz Age†). The illegal production of alcohol, or bootlegging, was created from Prohibition, the very thing that tried to regulate it. Bootlegging is defined as the â€Å"†¦illegal traffic of liquor in violation of legislative restrictions†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The term is derived from the 1880’s when smugglers would carry alcohol in their boots to sell to Indians (â€Å"Bootlegging†). Though prohibition outlawed it, bootlegging greatly increased the number of speakeasies and illegal stills (â€Å"The Jazz Age†). Bootlegging also increased smuggling, extortion, and organized crime rates within the cities. This bootlegging was often grouped with narcotics, gambling and prostitution as well (â€Å"Bootlegging†). Bootlegging was prominent in states near national boarders that could easily be crossed (â€Å"Prohibition†). Though Prohibition ended, bootlegging remained in areas that had locally banned alcohol (â€Å"Bootlegging†). Out of the bootlegging industry grew the gangsters that profited from it through extortion and illegality. â€Å"America experienced a massive increase in corruption and the growth of organized crime†¦Ã¢â‚¬  due to prohibition. â€Å"Powerful gangsters murdered anybody who got in their way† (Feinstein). Al Capone, a notorious gangster, joined the mob in 1920, killed off the mob boss with his friend Torrio, and later took over the mob from Torrio. The other major gangster of New York and Chicago was Bugs Moran, the target of the Valentine’s Day Massacre (Feinstein). On Valentine’s Day, Capone lured Bugs Moran’s men to an empty warehouse. He then had his men kill Moran’s men, in what is known as the Valentine’s Day Massacre (Lieurance). Capone’s chain of command kept him out of much of the trouble that the police suspected him to have caused. He was later convicted on tax exemption and died of pneumonia on January 25, 1947 (â€Å"Al Capone†). Even though Capone was a well-known criminal, the help he gave to the community gave him much love and praise as he drove around Chicago (Feinstein). Another difficulty for the law enforcement in the conviction of these gangsters was the gangsters’ ability to buy off police and chief public officials (Lieurance). The job of enforcing the lawbreaking bootleggers fell to Elliot Ness and his team of elite men. Elliot Ness was known for being the lead organized crime fighter of the twenties, as he took down Al Capone and weeded out over 200 corrupt officials (â€Å"Elliot†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). â€Å"†¦ Elliot Ness joined the Department of Justice in Chicago. Ness suggested that a special unit be created that would report to only the highest officials† (Lieurance). Elliot’s elite team was known as the Untouchables because they could not be bribed. It contained nine men with a variety of different skills that made busts on the major distributors. Though the Untouchables were never able to convict Capone on liquor trafficking charges, they did harm his business. In one case, Ness paraded Capone’s vehicles, which were taken from a bust, around the city to irritate Capone to the point of calling a hit on Ness that was never completed. This group was able to catch Capone’s bookkeeper, which later helped convict Capone of tax fraud (Lieurance).