On January 16, 1920, a dry regime was introduced in the United States. The measure was introduced with the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution and prohibited the production, sale, import and export of alcohol on US territory.
However, the dry regime did not encourage sobriety at all - smuggled bars, called “speakeasies”, served alcohol, commented dariknews.bg. The restriction actually helped to form the mafia in the US, which began to control its illegal import and distribution. Chicago became the center of illegal alcohol import, and gangsters such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran earned millions from sales of whiskey, beer, etc. By the end of the decade, Capone controlled the entire import and distribution chain from Florida to Chicago.
There are a number of interesting stories from the time of prohibition. Jurors in a liquor trafficking case in Los Angeles were held liable because they drank the evidence. Their justification was that they had checked whether the liquid contained alcohol and after repeated swallowing, the conclusion was that it did. However, the defendant was acquitted because not a drop of evidence remained against him.
While the law was in effect, there was a real boom in boat trips, which were advertised as “a trip to nowhere”. The moment the ship entered international waters, it began to spin in circles, and the passengers indulged in alcoholic intoxication.
A curious fact is that, fully confident that the end of crime in general was coming with Prohibition, some American cities naively sold their prisons.
However, the critic of Prohibition - Congressman from New York Fiorello LaGuardia - estimated that the federal and local governments were losing more than $ 1 billion a year in taxes on illegally sold alcohol. According to him, this amount went into the pockets of smugglers and officials in the form of bribes.
The growing conviction that Prohibition was a costly failure led to its repeal. Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933, with the signature of the newly elected President Franklin Roosevelt. The regime, often described as "the greatest misunderstanding in American history," lasted 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours, and 32 minutes. At the end, Roosevelt said, "What America needs right now is a drink!"