Volstead Act (1919) – Prohibited the sale, manufacture, and import of all “intoxicating beverages”

Established the Prohibition Bureau in the Treasury Department

18th Amendment (1920) – provided Constitutional weight and enforcement of the Volstead Act

Speakeasies – illegal “underground” clubs that served alcohol (could be found everywhere)

Bootleggers – people who obtained alcohol illegally and sold it

Rum-Runners – people who used boats to smuggle alcohol and outran the Prohibition Bureau’s watercraft

Organized Crime – Prohibition contributed to the rise of organized crime

By the age of 26, Al Capone headed a criminal empire in Chicago

He used bribery and violence to maintain control

From 1925-1931, he bootlegged whiskey from Canada, operated illegal breweries, and ran a network of 10,000 speakeasies

By 1927, the “Big Fellow” was worth over $100 million

He was arrested for tax evasion in 1931

Read the primary source, “My Bootlegger,” from Collier’s magazine.

As you read, take notes on all the different reasons why Prohibition was difficult to enforce.

The 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933 by the 21st

Amendment