bootlegger essays

bootlegger essays Bootleggers in the 1920s were very powerful people who illegally distributed or produced liquor and many other high priced goods. The name Bootlegger, was adopted by Midwest travelers in the 1880s because they would hide their liquor in their boots when trading with Indians. In the early 1900s, bootleggers successfully defeated many early attempts by the government to regulate the liquor business by taxation. In 1920, congress passed the 18th amendment, which prohibited the sale of alcohol, also known as the prohibition era. Bootlegging became a profitable source of income, and as a result, bootleggers gained enormous power and wealth during this era. In Bigger cities like Chicago, tremendous industries were created around illegal liquor and beer sales creating organized crime. The demand for alcohol gave bootleggers, many of whom were gangsters, much wealth and power. The public turned to these gangsters who eagerly supplied them with alcohol. Many bootleggers would bribe high political figures, securing there illegal business. More gangsters emerged in the money making business as the industry became more and more profitable. People started buying alcohol from the black market and in pubs known as "Speakeasies". people were willing to pay big money for this, and the bootlegging business became more complex. Bootleggers organized themselves into alliances and cartels that could control their activities. Corruption spread like a virus into the public and law and order began to break down creating murders to rise. The bootlegging business was so big at the time, many rival gangs were competing with each other for money. As the prohibition era went on, fewer and fewer people were controlling the money made by bootlegging. Al Capone, Bugs Moran, and the Obanions, made most of the bootlegging money They were above the law it seemed and powerful figures and had influence over la ...