If you were forbidden to do something that you enjoyed a lot, would you continue it or stop it? This was the question that was asked across the United States when the new amendment was passed that forbade the population from the selling and making of alcohol. It was the 18th Amendment that made intoxicating beverages to be illegal but it was actually the Volstead Act that enforced the rule (Lucas 55). Prohibition was a period in time where the sale, manufacture and/or transportation of alcoholic beverages became illegal in the United States. For 13 years, the American society was challenged with the biggest change in history (Pendergast et.al. 353-365). Although it was thought that the people would have no other option other than to stop drinking and to support the movement towards a better society, the complete opposition happened.
The people who disapproved of the cleansing movement started to form organizations that would go against the law and drink alcohol. The introduction of prohibition created plentiful opinions and issues in the American society. The reactions towards Prohibition were very indifferent and largely mixed. There were organizations that were working towards advocating Prohibition and offering help to people that needed it to quit drinking. There was an increased call for the temperance movements that would be called the “Perfectionist movements” (“Prohibition”). On the other hand, there were many of people in the population that generally believed that Prohibition was a violation of their freedom and wanted to continued drinking. The common citizens that were once law abiding even became criminals because they began to produce their own alcohol. It wasn’t long after the establishment of Prohibition that protests and rebels fought for their right to drink alcohol. The people of the United States during the 1920’s were divided but the most drastic effect of Prohibition was the change in the lifestyle of the average American citizen.
If you were a citizen of the United States back in 1920, would you obey the law like the government expected people or would you go to the speakeasy and continue your drinking career in secret? This research will answer the following question: how did the life of an average American change during Prohibition?
One way the lifestyle of the average American is that there were speakeasy that were used instead of bars. Before Prohibition, bars were open to the public, anyone could go drink and enjoy the music. Speakeasy were formed and usually require an invitation or a secret password to enter. The name for speakeasy can from the bartenders telling the customers to “speak easy” and not draw attention (Blumenthal 130). The drinks that were offered were too expensive that in today’s money it would be $87 for the cheap stuff. In the currency back then, it would be $7 (74). Even though the alcohol was priced at a very high prices, the people were desperate to drink and go against the law. The speakeasies were usually crowded with people of high wealth that could afford to pay the extreme prices even for the alcohol that before was cheap. The saloons before Prohibition “had seldom welcomed women, the new world of nightclubs invited both the bob-haired flapper and her sheik to drink cocktails, smoke, and dance to jazz” (Andersen).
The life in the bar changed throughout Prohibition that ultimately changed the life of the American citizens.
Another way that the average American lifestyle changed was the idea that people started to become desperate for alcohol. There were any different ways in which people tried to produce alcohol, or something similar, because they couldn’t just go to the bar or the store and buy it. Bathtub gin and moonshine became very popular as it was easy to produce and those quickly took the places of the previously mass-produced alcohol. There was also evidence that people would use grape juice and additives to try to produce wine (Andersen). Bootlegging became more popular, which is the illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor (“Prohibition”). Although with bootlegging came the organized crime of criminals like Al Capone. The gangsters were all able to earn large amounts of money by bootlegging and operating speakeasies. The people that were desperate for alcohol all fell into the lie for Al Capone and were basically stuck in a world where they had to pay a lot of money to the gangsters for alcohol. People started to see Al Capone and other gangster as heroes because they would provide the alcohol everyone was craving. Furthermore, with the closure of businesses like bars, there were higher levels of unemployment and people were forced to look for ways to make money through the illegal transportation of money (Andersen).
During the 1920’s, specifically during Prohibition, there were major changes going on in society that ultimately caused the changes in the average American citizen life. The lives of Americans changes in the ways, such as; the places they went to drink alcohol and the increased desperation of alcohol in society. The effort to establish a better society for the people was made pointless after the long 13 years of no improvement. Even after the repeal of the 18th Amendment with the 21st the changes in the American lives continued into the later years.