Prohibition

G- Men

"Machine Gun" Kelly and the Legend of the G-Men. Before 1934, "G-Man" was underworld slang for any and all government agents. In fact, the detectives in J. Edgar Hoover's Bureau of Investigation were so little known that they were often confused with Secret Service or Prohibition Bureau agents.

Walter Trohan

(July 4, 1903 - October 28, 2003) was a 20th-century American journalist, known as a long-time Chicago Tribune reporter (1939-1971) and its bureau chief in Washington, D.C. (1949-1968).

Women's the Christian Temperance Union

(WCTU) Reform organization that led the fight against alcohol in the late 1800s.

Wickersham Commision

1931. "Enforcement of the Prohibition Laws: Official Records of the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement Vol. ... United States Wickersham Commission (1968).

Prohibition

A complete ban on the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcohol.

Bugs Morgan

Adelard Cunin (August 21, 1893 - February 25, 1957), better known as George 'Bugs' Moran, was a Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before turning 21.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Al Capone also had to deal with rival gangster Bugs Moran and his North Siders gang, who had been a threat for years. Moran had even once tried to kill Capone's colleague and friend Jack McGurn. The decision by Capone and McGurn to avail themselves of Moran was to lead to one of the most infamous gangland massacres in history — the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. On Thursday, February 14, 1929 at 10:30 in the morning, Bugs Moran and his gang were lured by a bootlegger into a garage to buy whiskey. McGurn's men would be waiting for them, dressed in stolen police uniforms; the idea being that they would stage a fake raid. McGurn, like Capone, made sure he was far away and checked into a hotel with his girlfriend. When McGurn's men thought they saw Bugs Moran, they got into their police uniforms and drove over to the garage in a stolen police car. The bootleggers, caught in the act, lined up against the wall. McGurn's men took the bootleggers' guns and opened fire with two machine guns. All the men except Frank Gusenberg were killed outright in cold blood. The plan appeared to go brilliantly except for one major detail: Bugs Moran was not among the dead. Moran had seen the police car and took off, not wanting to be caught up in the raid. Even though Al Capone was conveniently in Florida, the police and the newspapers knew who had staged the massacre. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre became a national media event immortalizing Capone as the most ruthless, feared, smartest and elegant of gangland bosses.

Dry

America Goes Dry with Prohibition. From 1919 to 1933, the manufacture and sale of alcohol are banned in the United States. Dry's -They believed that the prohibition was good for America and benefited America greatly because men were bringing their paychecks home and there was less abuse. -People who were on the dry side included many women (because of the abuse caused by alcohol) and rural area populations.

Elizabeth Thompson

An early participant in the temperance movement, Eliza Jane Thompson was the daughter of former Ohio governor and the wife of a local judge. Like so many temperance workers, she had experienced the impact of alcoholism first-hand: her eldest son, a clergyman, had become addicted through a doctor's prescription and then died in what was called an "inebriate asylum." </p> <p> On December 23, 1873, Thompson attended a speech by a visiting temperance lecturer who urged the town's wives and mothers to take to the streets in protest. On Christmas Eve, Thompson joined nearly 200 other women at the First Presbyterian Church. After prayers, she led them outside, lined up two-by-two, all dressed in black and singing her favorite hymn, "Give to the Winds Thy Fears." Within days, what came to be called the "Woman's' Crusade" was erupting all across Ohio <blockquote> "What you see in one community in Ohio is that the women snap. They go out and they gather in front of a saloon and they go down on their knees and they start praying, blocking the entrance praying, which is this act of radical civil disobedience but that is also completely within the parameters of accepted female behavior. And the movement takes off like wildfire."

Al Capone

As Capone's reputation grew, he still insisted on being unarmed as a mark of his status. But he never went anywhere without at least two bodyguards and was even sandwiched between bodyguards when traveling by car. He preferred to travel under the cover of night, risking travel by day only when absolutely necessary. With his business acumen, Al became Torrio's partner and took over as manager of the Four Deuces — Torrio's headquarters in Chicago's Levee area. The Four Deuces served as a speakeasy, gambling joint and whorehouse under one roof.

The "real" McCoy

As a non-drinker, McCoy disagreed with prohibition and rationalized his new career by remarking, "Americans, since the beginnings of this nation, have always kicked holes in the laws they resented." But disregard for the law wasn't his only motivation. Lucrative monetary rewards also enticed him. Arethusea loading booze in the Bahamas Mccoy's first shipment from the Bahamas to Savannah, Georgia, in 1921 brought $15,000. Realizing the potential for browth, McCoy bought the 130-foot Arethusa. To accommodate as much contraband as she could hold, her fish pins were retrofitted, and to assist in her speed, McCoy installed a larger auxiliary motor. He also mounted a concealed machine gun on the bow. When outfitted, she hauled Irish and Canadian whiskey, as well as other fine liquors and wines, up the ease coast from Florida to Maine. Sailing her north to New York, McCoy realized by anchoring just off shore he could let "contact boats," local fishermen and small boat captains, carry the illegal cargo to shore. Being small and quick, the boats could easily outrun the Coast Guard, maneuver through eddies and transfer their cargo to waiting trucks with local law enforcement none the wiser. McCoy simply collected payment while eliminating risk. This was the start of the notorious "rum row," a prohibition phenomenon that included hundreds of boats selling illegal liquor anchored along the eastern seaboard, off Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico. Rum Row soon became very competitive. Suppliers often flew large banners enticing buyers with wild parties and prostitutes. In time, any remaining civility gave way to lawlessness. Soon, crews armed themselves to ward off other rumrunners who would hijack cargo and sink ships rather than making the run themselves to Canada or the Caribbean. While McCoy was making tons of money, he was also spending it. With the success of his first ventures and figuring he could double his profits, he hired another captain to sail the Henry L. Marshall. Unfortunately, the ship drifted into U.S. waters and in August 1922 the Coast Guard seized it. As its owner, McCoy was indicted, but to avoid arrest he high tailed it to Nassau in the Bahamas. Now a wanted man, McCoy reasoned it was safer for him to remain in Nassau. He placed the Arethusa under British registry and renamed her Tomoka. He alsoregistered her with the French under the name, Marie Celeste, a move made by many American ship owners as protection against seizure. (The Coast Guard wasn't allowed to board a vessel registered under a foreign country unless they wandered into U.S. territorial waters.)Next, he added two more ships to his fleet and hired captains to sail them. But the inexperienced crew brought great trouble. One ship was seized and several months later the other was severely damaged in a collision. Sapped by the lost revenues, McCoy found himself on the verge of bankruptcy. To remedy the situation, he stacked the Tomoka withonly a half-load of contraband liquor and sailed for New Jersey. Eager buyers snapped up the cargo in two days, solving his urgent cash flow problem. Over the next few months, he made several more trips and by the spring of 1923, his reputation as a leading rumrunner was restored. Specializing in buying only high-quality whiskey, which he never "cut" (diluted), and having a reputation for fair dealing, the phrase "the real McCoy," a phrase that stands today as reference to the "authentic" article, became synonymous with his name.

Texas Guinan

By name of Mary Louise Cecelia Guinan, (born Jan. 12, 1884, Waco, Texas, U.S.—died Nov. 5, 1933, Vancouver, B.C., Can.), American actress of the early 20th century who is remembered most vividly as a highly popular nightclub hostess during the Prohibition era. Guinan went on the stage at a young age.

Volstead Act

Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment.

Wayne Wheeler

Early in his career Wheeler's showed strong organizational skills and political acumen. He engineered the reelection defeat of a prominent wet (anti-prohibition) governor of Ohio. This dramatically increased his stature. In 1915 he moved to Washington, DC, where he could more easily wield important political pressure. He soon developed what is now known as pressure politics or Wheelerism. Under Wayne Wheeler's leadership, the League focused entirely on achieving Prohibition. It organized at the grass-roots level and worked extensively through churches. The League supported or opposed candidates entirely based entirely on their position regarding prohibition. It completely disregards their party affiliation or position on other issues. And it worked with the two major parties instead of the smaller Prohibition Party.

What other reforms movements did women demand as apart of the WCTU?

Eventually, the WCTU's social reform causes included kindergartens, child labor, anti-prostitution, public health, sanitation, international peace, and suffrage. The movement grew in numbers and strength, and by 1892 the WCTU had nearly 150,000 dues-paying members (Bordin, 1990). The WCTU was instrumental in organizing woman's suffrage leaders and in helping more women become involved in American politics. Local chapters, known as "unions", were largely autonomous though linked to state and national headquarters. Willard pushed for the "Home Protection" ballot, arguing that women, being the superior sex morally, needed the vote in order to act as "citizen-mothers" and protect their homes and cure society's ills.

January 17, 1920

First day Prohibition comes into effect in the US as a result of the 18th amendment.

Frances Willard

Frances E. Willard was a major figure in nineteenth-century America and, indeed, the entire English-speaking world. After her death in 1898, her admirers placed her statue in the United States Capitol Building.Frances E. Willard Willard, Frances, 1838-1898, American educator and temperance leader; b. Churchville, N.Y. She believed women could gain political power through the temperance crusade. As president of the Women's the Christian Temperance Union, she supported women's suffrage. She helped found the Prohibition party (1882) and wrote Women and Temperance (1883).

Cicero, Illinois

Has a long history of organized crime and was famously home to the American mafia figure Al Capone. This article contains a list of major events related to organized crime.

Amendment 18

Prohibition of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition. The manufacture, sale, transportation, import or export of alcohol is made illegal.

Bathtub gin

Refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. The term first appeared in 1920, in the prohibition-era United States, in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made. ... Bathtub Gin is also the name for a gin brand produced by Ableforth's in the United Kingdom.

Rev. Billy Sunday

Sunday was credited with being a major social influence in the temperance movement, which led to Prohibition in 1919. One of his most famous sermons was "Booze, or, Get on the Water Wagon," which persuaded many to give up drinking. Even after Prohibition was repealed, he called for its reintroduction.

Speakeasy

Temperance and Prohibition movements. Saloons were accused of being dens of iniquity by those behind the movements, a fact that was most often true. Having started in the 1830's, temperance advocates didn't initially support prohibiting consumption of alcohol, but rather, the drinking of beer and wine in moderation and abstention from hard liquor. In 1851, the state of Maine prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors. Just four years later, in 1855, thirteen of the then thirty-one states had passed similar laws.

Pierre Dupont

The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment was established in 1918[1] and became a leading organization working for the repeal of prohibition in the United States. The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment was founded by William H. Stayton in 1918. It grew rapidly as the problems caused by prohibition became increasingly evident. Its publicity campaign, begun in 1928, helped mobilize growing opposition to the Eighteenth Amendment (the "prohibition amendment"). It included, as an official song, "Light Wine and Beer" by Dave Kohn and George Vest Jr., music by Bert Keene.

Amendment 21

The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol on January 16, 1919. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933.

Flappers

The only grown women sporting short skirts and bobbed hair, flappers were easy to spot. They dared to smoke cigarettes and drink cocktails in public. They turned down their hose, powdered their knees and painted their lips bright red. They hung out in speakeasies and nightclubs where they danced the Tango, the Black Bottom and the biggest dance craze of all—the Charleston—with bare arms and legs flying. Parents, teachers and pastors were scandalized by flappers and their boyfriends. These fellows wore knee-length raccoon coats and always kept their hip flasks full of illegal gin.

Temperance

The temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries was an organized effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence. The movement's ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of unbridled drinking by many of their menfolk. In fact, alcohol was blamed for many of society's demerits, among them severe health problems, destitution and crime. At first, they used moral suasion to address the problem.

The "Untouchables"

Was a group of nine U.S. federal law-enforcement agents led by Eliot Ness, who, from 1929 to 1931, worked to end Al Capone's illegal activities by aggressively enforcing Prohibition laws against Capone and his organization.

Paula Sabin

Was a prohibition repeal leader and Republican party official. She was born in Chicago, Illinois and she was a New Yorker who founded the Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform.

Eliot Ness

Was an American Prohibition agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois, bringing down Al Capone, and the leader of a famous team of law enforcement agents nicknamed The Untouchables

Henry Ford

Was an American captain of industry and a business magnate, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production.

Carrie Nation

Was an American woman who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. She is particularly noteworthy for attacking alcohol-serving establishments with a hatchet.

Wet

Wet's -The wets believed that the prohibition led to an increase of illegal activity and did not stop as it was created to prevent. -They wanted the 18th amendment to be repealed. - People who were on the wet side included many congressmen, men, and people living in the city.

Big Bill Thompson

William Hale Thompson was an American politician, mayor of Chicago for three terms, from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill" Thompson, he is the last Republican to serve as mayor of Chicago to date.