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85-660: The Gem Theater was a saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota , owned by Al Swearengen . Swearengen opened the Gem Variety Theater on April 7, 1877, at the corners of Wall and Main streets to entertain the population of the mining camp with " prize fights " (as was customary with Swearengen's previous establishment the Cricket Saloon, no prizes were actually involved), stage acts consisting of comedians, singers and dancers, and primarily, prostitutes. Gambling

170-530: A " sin tax " would raise public awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol. The whiskey tax was repealed after Thomas Jefferson 's Democratic-Republican Party , which opposed the Federalist Party of Alexander Hamilton , came to power in 1800. Benjamin Rush , one of the foremost physicians of the late 18th century, believed in moderation rather than prohibition. In his treatise, "The Inquiry into

255-468: A bar, such as California. In the UK, minors are permitted to be in a bar, though there are many bars that also serve food. In many jurisdictions, if those under legal drinking age are allowed to enter, as is the case with pubs that serve food, they are not allowed to drink; in the U.S., there are 8 states where children may drink in a pub if accompanied by their parents. In some jurisdictions, bars cannot serve

340-586: A breeding ground for political corruption . Most economists during the early 20th century were in favor of the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition). Simon Patten , one of the leading advocates for prohibition, predicted that prohibition would eventually happen in the United States for competitive and evolutionary reasons. Yale economics professor Irving Fisher , who was a dry, wrote extensively about prohibition, including

425-608: A certain kind of patron. However, they have only limited influence over who patronizes their establishment. Thus, a bar originally intended for one demographic profile can become popular with another. For example, a gay or lesbian bar with a dance or disco floor might, over time, attract an increasingly heterosexual clientele, or a blues bar may become a biker bar if most its patrons are bikers. Bars can also be an integral part of larger venues. For example, hotels, casinos and nightclubs are usually home to one or several bars. Other types of bar include: Some persons may designate either

510-558: A constitutional amendment was passed for the purpose of repealing another. The overall effects of Prohibition on society are disputed and hard to pin down. Some research indicates that alcohol consumption declined substantially due to Prohibition, while other research indicates that Prohibition did not reduce alcohol consumption in the long term. Americans who wanted to continue drinking alcohol found loopholes in Prohibition laws or used illegal methods to obtain alcohol, resulting in

595-556: A contentious topic in America since the colonial period . On March 26, 1636, the legislature of New Somersetshire met at what is now Saco, Maine , and adopted a law limiting the sale of "strong liquor or wyne", although carving out exceptions for "lodger[s]" and allowing serving to "laborers on working days for one hower at dinner." In May 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts made the sale of strong liquor "whether known by

680-440: A decade, other temperance groups had formed in eight states, some of them being statewide organizations. The words of Rush and other early temperance reformers served to dichotomize the use of alcohol for men and women. While men enjoyed drinking and often considered it vital to their health, women who began to embrace the ideology of "true motherhood" refrained from the consumption of alcohol. Middle-class women, who were considered

765-536: A dry sentiment leading to prohibition. Frances Willard , the second president of the WCTU, held that the aims of the organization were to create a "union of women from all denominations, for the purpose of educating the young, forming a better public sentiment, reforming the drinking classes, transforming by the power of Divine grace those who are enslaved by alcohol, and removing the dram-shop from our streets by law". While still denied universal voting privileges, women in

850-525: A negative effect on the economy by eliminating jobs dedicated to the then-fifth largest industry in the United States. Support for Prohibition diminished steadily throughout its duration, including among former supporters of Prohibition. On November 18, 1918, prior to ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, the U.S. Congress passed the temporary Wartime Prohibition Act, which banned the sale of alcoholic beverages having an alcohol content of greater than 1.28%. This act, which had been intended to save grain for

935-501: A night, even reaching as high as $ 10,000. Swearengen forged alliances with many of Deadwood's most prominent citizens, buying himself immunity from legal or other problems. His immunity even extended to the notoriously upright and incorruptible Marshal Seth Bullock , who did not have the political clout to extend his campaign to clean up the town as far as the lower regions of Main Street, which remained Swearengen's territory. The front of

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1020-506: A paper that made an economic case for prohibition. Fisher is credited with supplying the criteria against which future prohibitions, such as against marijuana , could be measured, in terms of crime, health, and productivity. For example, " Blue Monday " referred to the hangover workers experienced after a weekend of binge drinking , resulting in Mondays being a wasted productive day. But new research has discredited Fisher's research, which

1105-472: A patron who is already intoxicated. Cities and towns usually have legal restrictions on where bars may be located and on the types of alcohol they may serve to their customers. Some bars may have a license to serve beer and wine, but not hard liquor. In some jurisdictions, patrons buying alcohol must also order food. In some jurisdictions, bar owners have a legal liability for the conduct of patrons who they serve (this liability may arise in cases of driving under

1190-471: A room or an area of a room as a home bar . Furniture and arrangements vary from efficient to full bars that could be suited as businesses. Bars categorized by the kind of entertainment they offer: The counter at which drinks are served by a bartender is called "the bar". This term is applied, as a synecdoche , to drinking establishments called "bars". This counter typically stores a variety of beers , wines , liquors , and non-alcoholic ingredients, and

1275-520: A year throughout the 1920s, and Prohibition Commissioner John F. Kramer even cited one doctor who wrote 475 prescriptions for whiskey in one day. It wasn't tough for people to write—and fill—counterfeit subscriptions at pharmacies, either. Naturally, bootleggers bought prescription forms from crooked doctors and mounted widespread scams. In 1931, 400 pharmacists and 1,000 doctors were caught in a scam where doctors sold signed prescription forms to bootleggers. Just 12 doctors and 13 pharmacists were indicted, and

1360-594: Is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail." At the same time, songs emerged decrying the act. After Edward, Prince of Wales , returned to the United Kingdom following his tour of Canada in 1919, he recounted to his father, King George V , a ditty he had heard at a border town: Four and twenty Yankees, feeling very dry, Went across

1445-464: Is implied that Swearengen dies due to liver failure in his bed upstairs in the saloon (the real Swearengen was murdered in Denver in 1904) and that he leaves the saloon to a former prostitute named Trixie. 44°22′41″N 103°43′44″W  /  44.378°N 103.729°W  / 44.378; -103.729 Bar (establishment) The term derives from the metal or wooden bar (barrier) that

1530-413: Is not stopping drinking by putting poison in alcohol ... [Y]et it continues its poisoning processes, heedless of the fact that people determined to drink are daily absorbing that poison. Knowing this to be true, the United States government must be charged with the moral responsibility for the deaths that poisoned liquor causes, although it cannot be held legally responsible." Another lethal substance that

1615-417: Is often located along the length of the "bar". Over many years, heights of bars were lowered, and high stools added, and the brass bar remains today. There have been many different names for public drinking spaces throughout history. In the colonial era of the United States, taverns were an important meeting place, as most other institutions were weak. During the 19th century saloons were very important to

1700-437: Is organized to facilitate the bartender's work. Counters for serving other types of food and drink may also be called bars. Examples of this usage of the word include snack bars , sushi bars, juice bars , salad bars , dairy bars , and ice cream sundae bars. Bars are a popular setting for fictional works, and in many cases, authors and other creators have developed imaginary bar locations that have become notable, such as

1785-637: The Anti-Saloon League superseding the Prohibition Party and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as the most influential advocate of prohibition, after these latter two groups expanded their efforts to support other social reform issues, such as women's suffrage , onto their prohibition platform. Prohibition was an important force in state and local politics from the 1840s through the 1930s. Numerous historical studies demonstrated that

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1870-793: The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment , which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933. Led by Pietistic Protestants , prohibitionists first attempted to end the trade in alcoholic drinks during the 19th century. They aimed to heal what they saw as an ill society beset by alcohol-related problems such as alcoholism , family violence , and saloon -based political corruption . Many communities introduced alcohol bans in

1955-591: The Latter-day Saints . These religious groups identified saloons as politically corrupt and drinking as a personal sin. Other active organizations included the Women's Church Federation, the Women's Temperance Crusade, and the Department of Scientific Temperance Instruction. They were opposed by the wets, primarily liturgical Protestants ( Episcopalians and German Lutherans) and Catholics , who denounced

2040-485: The South , enacted prohibition legislation, as did individual counties within a state. Court cases also debated the subject of prohibition. While some cases ruled in opposition, the general tendency was toward support. In Mugler v. Kansas (1887), Justice Harlan commented: "We cannot shut out of view the fact, within the knowledge of all, that the public health, the public morals, and the public safety, may be endangered by

2125-581: The Volstead Act , to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment when it went into effect in 1920. Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, when the Volstead Act went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police) were tasked with enforcement. Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it would not be repealed. One of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard , joked that "there

2210-603: The presidential election of 1916 , the Democratic incumbent, Woodrow Wilson , and the Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes , ignored the prohibition issue, as did both parties' political platforms. Democrats and Republicans had strong wet and dry factions, and the election was expected to be close, with neither candidate wanting to alienate any part of his political base. When the 65th Congress convened in March 1917,

2295-463: The temperance movement . The dry crusade was revived by the national Prohibition Party , founded in 1869, and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1874. The WCTU advocated the prohibition of alcohol as a method for preventing, through education, abuse from alcoholic husbands. WCTU members believed that if their organization could reach children with its message, it could create

2380-653: The ATS had reached 1.5 million members, with women constituting 35% to 60% of its chapters. The Prohibition movement, also known as the dry crusade, continued in the 1840s, spearheaded by pietistic religious denominations, especially the Methodists . The late 19th century saw the temperance movement broaden its focus from abstinence to include all behavior and institutions related to alcohol consumption. Preachers such as Reverend Mark A. Matthews linked liquor-dispensing saloons with political corruption. Some successes for

2465-634: The Constitution were championed by dry crusaders to help their cause. One was granted in the Sixteenth Amendment (1913), which replaced alcohol taxes that funded the federal government with a federal income tax. The other was women's suffrage, which was granted after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920; since women tended to support prohibition, temperance organizations tended to support women's suffrage. In

2550-604: The Effects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human Body and Mind" (1784), Rush argued that the excessive use of alcohol was injurious to physical and psychological health, labeling drunkenness as a disease. Apparently influenced by Rush's widely discussed belief, about 200 farmers in a Connecticut community formed a temperance association in 1789. Similar associations were formed in Virginia in 1800 and New York in 1808. Within

2635-457: The Gem consisted of a bar, and the "theater" area; in the back were the rooms for the prostitutes. Day-to-day operations were managed by Al Swearengen himself. Customers frequently brutalized the women, even to the point of killing them. The violence in the Gem was not confined to the prostitutes, with the saloon being a frequent site of gunfights between drunken patrons; and in one memorable instance,

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2720-535: The Senate" and was ratified by 46 out of 48 states. Enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act , set down the rules for enforcing the federal ban and defined the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. But not all alcohol was banned; for example, religious use of wine was permitted. Private ownership and consumption of alcohol were not made illegal under federal law, but local laws were stricter in many areas, some states banning possession outright. By

2805-676: The U.S. border with Canada, was notoriously difficult to control, especially rum-running in Windsor , Canada. When the U.S. government complained to the British that American law was being undermined by officials in Nassau , Bahamas , the head of the British Colonial Office refused to intervene. Winston Churchill believed that Prohibition was "an affront to the whole history of mankind". Three federal agencies were assigned

2890-420: The WCTU followed Frances Willard's "Do Everything" doctrine and used temperance as a method of entering into politics and furthering other progressive issues such as prison reform and labor laws . In 1881 Kansas became the first state to outlaw alcoholic beverages in its Constitution . Arrested over 30 times and fined and jailed on multiple occasions, prohibition activist Carrie Nation attempted to enforce

2975-505: The White House. After the Eighteenth Amendment became law, bootlegging became widespread. In the first six months of 1920, the federal government opened 7,291 cases for Volstead Act violations. In the first complete fiscal year of 1921, the number of cases violating the Volstead Act jumped to 29,114 violations and would rise dramatically over the next thirteen years. Grape juice was not restricted by Prohibition, even though if it

3060-486: The additives from the alcohol to make it drinkable. As a response, the Treasury Department required manufacturers to add more deadly poisons, including the particularly deadly combination referred to (incorrectly) as "methyl alcohol": 4 parts methanol , 2.25 parts pyridine base, and 0.5 parts benzene per 100 parts ethyl alcohol. New York City medical examiners prominently opposed these policies because of

3145-862: The bar for Cheers , Cocktails and Dreams bar in the film Cocktail (1988), the Copacabana bar in the crime film Goodfellas , the rough and tumble Double Deuce in Road House (1989), The Kit Kat Klub in Cabaret , the Korova Milk Bar in the dystopian novel and film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange , the Mos Eisley cantina-bar in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), and the Steinway Beer Garden from

3230-512: The border to get a drink of rye. When the rye was opened, the Yanks began to sing, "God bless America, but God save the King!" Prohibition became highly controversial among medical professionals because alcohol was widely prescribed by the era's physicians for therapeutic purposes. Congress held hearings on the medicinal value of beer in 1921. Subsequently, physicians across the country lobbied for

3315-626: The consumption of alcohol. Many people stockpiled wines and liquors for their personal use in the latter part of 1919 before sales of alcoholic beverages became illegal in January 1920. Since alcohol was legal in neighboring countries, distilleries and breweries in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean flourished as their products were either consumed by visiting Americans or smuggled into the United States illegally. The Detroit River , which forms part of

3400-507: The country. Before the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect in January 1920, many of the upper classes stockpiled alcohol for legal home consumption after Prohibition began. They bought the inventories of liquor retailers and wholesalers, emptying out their warehouses, saloons, and club storerooms. President Woodrow Wilson moved his own supply of alcoholic beverages to his Washington residence after his term of office ended. His successor, Warren G. Harding , relocated his own large supply into

3485-548: The crime-themed video game Grand Theft Auto IV . Prohibition in the United States The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages . The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under

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3570-413: The danger to human life. As many as 10,000 people died from drinking denatured alcohol before Prohibition ended. New York City medical examiner Charles Norris believed the government took responsibility for murder when they knew the poison was not deterring consumption and they continued to poison industrial alcohol (which would be used in drinking alcohol) anyway. Norris remarked: "The government knows it

3655-603: The dries outnumbered the wets by 140 to 64 in the Democratic Party and 138 to 62 among Republicans. With America's declaration of war against Germany in April, German Americans , a major force against prohibition, were sidelined and their protests subsequently ignored. In addition, a new justification for prohibition arose: prohibiting the production of alcoholic beverages would allow more resources—especially grain that would otherwise be used to make alcohol—to be devoted to

3740-405: The emergence of black markets and crime syndicates dedicated to distributing alcohol. By contrast, rates of liver cirrhosis , alcoholic psychosis , and infant mortality declined during Prohibition. Because of the lack of uniform national statistics gathered about crime prior to 1930, it is difficult to draw conclusions about Prohibition's effect on crime at the national level. Prohibition had

3825-454: The federal government lacked resources to enforce it. Prohibition was successful in reducing the amount of liquor consumed, cirrhosis death rates, admissions to state mental hospitals for alcoholic psychosis, arrests for public drunkenness, and rates of absenteeism. While many state that Prohibition stimulated the proliferation of rampant underground, organized, and widespread criminal activity , Kenneth D. Rose and Georges-Franck Pinard make

3910-570: The few bootleggers ever to tell his story, Cassiday wrote five front-page articles for The Washington Post , in which he estimated that 80% of congressmen and senators drank. The Democrats in the North were mostly wets, and in the 1932 election , they made major gains. The wets argued that Prohibition was not stopping crime, and was actually causing the creation of large-scale, well-funded, and well-armed criminal syndicates. As Prohibition became increasingly unpopular, especially in urban areas, its repeal

3995-455: The finest theater ever seen in Deadwood. In 1899, however, the Gem burned down once again, and a broke Swearengen declined to rebuild and left for Colorado. Despite the Gem's history as Deadwood's longest-lived entertainment institution, its support by so many of the town power brokers over the years, and the glowing tributes in the press after the rebuilt Gem was unveiled, after its demise it

4080-600: The funds advanced to them for the trip; if that failed, they were threatened with beatings, and if that failed they were beaten and physically forced to submit to Swearengen's demands. Many still resisted, but those who escaped this fate could only find themselves in no better situation, as penniless women with no source of income, alone in a rough and rowdy mining camp, and with the constant threat of Swearengen's men hanging over them. Many grew sick and died from lack of proper nutrition and shelter, while many others committed suicide. The Gem prospered, bringing in an average of $ 5,000

4165-525: The general use of intoxicating drinks; nor the fact established by statistics accessible to every one, that the idleness, disorder, pauperism and crime existing in the country, are, in some degree...traceable to this evil." In support of prohibition, Crowley v. Christensen (1890), remarked: "The statistics of every state show a greater amount of crime and misery attributable to the use of ardent spirits obtained at these retail liquor saloons than to any other source." The proliferation of neighborhood saloons in

4250-476: The idea that the government should define morality. Even in the wet stronghold of New York City there was an active prohibition movement, led by Norwegian church groups and African-American labor activists who believed that prohibition would benefit workers, especially African Americans. Tea merchants and soda fountain manufacturers generally supported prohibition, believing a ban on alcohol would increase sales of their products. A particularly effective operator on

4335-505: The influence which cause injuries or deaths). Many Islamic countries prohibit bars as well as the possession or sale of alcohol for religious reasons, while others, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates , allow bars in some specific areas, but only permit non-Muslims to drink in them. A bar's owners and managers choose the bar's name, décor , drink menu, lighting, and other elements which they think will attract

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4420-535: The late 1920s, a new opposition to Prohibition emerged nationwide. The opposition attacked the policy, claiming that it lowered tax revenue at a critical time before and during the Great Depression and imposed "rural" Protestant religious values on "urban" America. The Twenty-first Amendment ended Prohibition, though it continued in some states. To date, this is the only time in American history in which

4505-475: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, and enforcement of these new prohibition laws became a topic of debate. Prohibition supporters, called "drys", presented it as a battle for public morals and health. The movement was taken up by progressives in the Prohibition , Democratic , and Republican parties, and gained a national grassroots base through the Woman's Christian Temperance Union . After 1900, it

4590-466: The legitimate liquor business. Some crime syndicates moved their efforts into expanding their protection rackets to cover legal liquor sales and other business areas. Doctors were able to prescribe medicinal alcohol for their patients. After just six months of prohibition, over 15,000 doctors and 57,000 pharmacists received licenses to prescribe or sell medicinal alcohol. According to Gastro Obscura , Physicians wrote an estimated 11 million prescriptions

4675-572: The leisure time of the working class. Today, even when an establishment uses a different name, such as "tavern" or "saloon" or, in the United Kingdom, a "pub", the area of the establishment where the bartender pours or mixes beverages is normally called "the bar". The sale and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the first half of the 20th century in several countries. In the United States, illegal bars during Prohibition were called " speakeasies ", "blind pigs", and "blind tigers". Laws in many U.S. states prohibit minors from entering

4760-504: The memoirs of John S. McClintock reported a prostitute named "Trixie" having shot a large hole through the skull of a man who astounded everyone by surviving for another half an hour. The Gem was damaged by fire in the summer of 1879 and repaired, but then very soon destroyed in a major fire that devastated the town on September 26, 1879. Swearengen built an even larger and more grand establishment, reopening in December 1879 to adulation as

4845-422: The moral authorities of their households, consequently rejected the drinking of alcohol, which they believed to be a threat to the home. In 1830, on average, Americans consumed 1.7 bottles of hard liquor per week, three times the amount consumed in 2010. The American Temperance Society (ATS), formed in 1826, helped initiate the first temperance movement and served as a foundation for many later groups. By 1835

4930-420: The movement he would need more public approval, and fast. This was the start of his policy called 'Wheelerism' where he used the media to make it seem like the general public was "in on" on a specific issue. Wheeler became known as the "dry boss" because of his influence and power. Prohibition represented a conflict between urban and rural values emerging in the United States. Given the mass influx of migrants to

5015-540: The movement were achieved in the 1850s, including the Maine law , adopted in 1851, which banned the manufacture and sale of liquor. Before its repeal in 1856, 12 states followed the example set by Maine in total prohibition. The temperance movement lost strength and was marginalized during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Following the war, social moralists turned to other issues, such as Mormon polygamy and

5100-484: The name of rum, whisky, wine, brandy, etc." to the Native Americans illegal. In general, informal social controls in the home and community helped maintain the expectation that the abuse of alcohol was unacceptable: "Drunkenness was condemned and punished, but only as an abuse of a God-given gift. Drink itself was not looked upon as culpable, any more than food deserved blame for the sin of gluttony . Excess

5185-591: The opposite claim that there was no increase in crime during the Prohibition era and that such claims are "rooted in the impressionistic rather than the factual." The highest homicide rate in the United States in the first half of the 20th century occurred during the years of prohibition, decreasing immediately after prohibition ended. By 1925, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs in New York City alone. Wet opposition talked of personal liberty, new tax revenues from legal beer and liquor, and

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5270-501: The political forces involved were ethnoreligious. Prohibition was supported by the dries, primarily pietistic Protestant denominations that included Methodists , Northern Baptists , Southern Baptists , New School Presbyterians , Disciples of Christ , Congregationalists , Quakers , and Scandinavian Lutherans , but also included the Catholic Total Abstinence Union of America and, to a certain extent,

5355-453: The political front was Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League , who made Prohibition a wedge issue and succeeded in getting many pro-prohibition candidates elected. Coming from Ohio, his deep resentment for alcohol started at a young age. He was injured on a farm by a worker who had been drunk. This event transformed Wheeler. Starting low in the ranks, he quickly moved up due to his deep-rooted hatred of alcohol. He later realized to further

5440-402: The post-Civil War era became a phenomenon of an increasingly industrialized, urban workforce. Workingmen's bars were popular social gathering places from the workplace and home life. The brewing industry was actively involved in establishing saloons as a lucrative consumer base in their business chain. Saloons were more often than not linked to a specific brewery, where the saloonkeeper's operation

5525-480: The repeal of Prohibition as it applied to medicinal liquors. From 1921 to 1930, doctors earned about $ 40 million for whiskey prescriptions. While the manufacture, importation, sale, and transport of alcohol was illegal in the United States, Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed wine and cider to be made from fruit at home, but not beer. Up to 200 gallons of wine and cider per year could be made, and some vineyards grew grapes for home use. The Act did not prohibit

5610-692: The scourge of organized crime. On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Cullen–Harrison Act , legalizing beer with an alcohol content of 3.2% (by weight) and wine of a similarly low alcohol content. On December 5, ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. However, United States federal law still prohibits the manufacture of distilled spirits without meeting numerous licensing requirements that make it impractical to produce spirits for personal use. Consumption of alcoholic beverages has been

5695-525: The state's ban on alcohol consumption. She walked into saloons, scolding customers, and used her hatchet to destroy bottles of liquor. Nation recruited ladies into the Carrie Nation Prohibition Group, which she also led. While Nation's vigilante techniques were rare, other activists enforced the dry cause by entering saloons, singing, praying, and urging saloonkeepers to stop selling alcohol. Other dry states , especially those in

5780-460: The steps that should be avoided to prevent the juice from fermenting into wine. Some drugstores sold "medical wine" with around a 22% alcohol content. In order to justify the sale, the wine was given a medicinal taste. Home-distilled hard liquor was called bathtub gin in northern cities, and moonshine in rural areas of Virginia , Kentucky , North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia , West Virginia and Tennessee . Making drinkable hard liquor

5865-498: The task of enforcing the Volstead Act: the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Treasury 's IRS Bureau of Prohibition, and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Prohibition. As early as 1925, journalist H. L. Mencken believed that Prohibition was not working. Historian David Oshinsky , summarizing the work of Daniel Okrent , wrote that "Prohibition worked best when directed at its primary target:

5950-483: The terms of the amendment, the country went dry one year later, on January 17, 1920. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act , the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson 's veto . The act established the legal definition of intoxicating liquors as well as penalties for producing them. Although the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol,

6035-430: The underground liquor market, by loading their stocks with ingredients for liquors, including Bénédictine , vermouth , scotch mash, and even ethyl alcohol ; anyone could purchase these ingredients legally. In October 1930, just two weeks before the congressional midterm elections, bootlegger George Cassiday —"the man in the green hat"—came forward and told members of Congress how he had bootlegged for ten years. One of

6120-433: The urban centers of the United States, many individuals within the prohibition movement associated the crime and morally corrupt behavior of American cities with their large, immigrant populations. Saloons frequented by immigrants in these cities were often frequented by politicians who wanted to obtain the immigrants' votes in exchange for favors such as job offers, legal assistance, and food baskets. Thus, saloons were seen as

6205-417: The war effort, was passed ten days after the armistice ending World War I was signed, on November 21, 1918. The Wartime Prohibition Act took effect June 30, 1919, with July 1 becoming known as the "Thirsty First". The U.S. Senate proposed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 18, 1917. Upon being approved by a 36th state on January 16, 1919, the amendment was ratified as a part of the Constitution. By

6290-603: The war effort. While wartime prohibition was a spark for the movement, World War I ended before nationwide Prohibition was enacted. A resolution calling for a Constitutional amendment to accomplish nationwide Prohibition was introduced in Congress and passed by both houses in December 1917. By January 16, 1919, the Amendment had been ratified by 36 of the 48 states, making it law. Eventually, only two states— Connecticut and Rhode Island —opted out of ratifying it. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed enabling legislation, known as

6375-443: The working-class poor." Historian Lizabeth Cohen writes: "A rich family could have a cellar-full of liquor and get by, it seemed, but if a poor family had one bottle of home-brew, there would be trouble." Working-class people were inflamed by the fact that their employers could dip into a private cache while they, the employees, could not. Within a week after Prohibition went into effect, small portable stills were on sale throughout

6460-482: Was a main theme at the Gem, as was the Gem band, which played nightly from the balcony as a form of advertising. Swearengen recruited his prostitutes by advertising legitimate stage, cleaning, or waitressing jobs in his theater to desperate young women and advancing them the money for their (one way) trip; then, when they arrived, forcing them into what was essentially indentured servitude as prostitutes. Those who balked were first threatened with demands for repayment of

6545-480: Was a personal indiscretion." When informal controls failed, there were legal options. Shortly after the United States obtained independence, the Whiskey Rebellion took place in western Pennsylvania in protest of government-imposed taxes on whiskey . Although the taxes were primarily levied to help pay down the newly formed national debt , it also received support from some social reformers, who hoped

6630-510: Was allowed to sit for sixty days it would ferment and turn to wine with a twelve percent alcohol content. Many people took advantage of this as grape juice output quadrupled during the Prohibition era. To prevent bootleggers from using industrial ethyl alcohol to produce illegal beverages, the federal government ordered the denaturation of industrial alcohols , meaning they must include additives to make them unpalatable or poisonous. In response, bootleggers hired chemists who successfully removed

6715-558: Was based on uncontrolled experiments; regardless, his $ 6 billion figure for the annual gains of Prohibition to the United States continues to be cited. In a backlash to the emerging reality of a changing American demographic, many prohibitionists subscribed to the doctrine of nativism , in which they endorsed the notion that the success of America was a result of its white Anglo-Saxon ancestry. This belief fostered distrust of immigrant communities that fostered saloons and incorporated drinking in their popular culture. Two other amendments to

6800-547: Was coordinated by the Anti-Saloon League . Opposition from the beer industry mobilized "wet" supporters from the wealthy Catholic and German Lutheran communities, but the influence of these groups receded from 1917 following the entry of the U.S. into the First World War against Germany. The Eighteenth Amendment passed in 1919 "with a 68 percent supermajority in the House of Representatives and 76 percent support in

6885-463: Was eagerly anticipated. Wets had the organization and the initiative. They pushed the argument that states and localities needed the tax money. President Herbert Hoover proposed a new constitutional amendment that was vague on particulars and satisfied neither side. Franklin Roosevelt's Democratic platform promised repeal of the 18th Amendment. When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, many bootleggers and suppliers with wet sympathies simply moved into

6970-643: Was easier than homebrewing good beer. Since selling privately distilled alcohol was illegal and bypassed government taxation, law enforcement officers relentlessly pursued manufacturers. In response, bootleggers modified their cars and trucks by enhancing the engines and suspensions to make faster vehicles that would improve their chances of outrunning and escaping agents of the Bureau of Prohibition , commonly called "revenue agents" or "revenuers". These cars became known as "moonshine runners" or " 'shine runners". Shops with wet sympathies were also known to participate in

7055-490: Was financed by a brewer and contractually obligated to sell the brewer's product to the exclusion of competing brands. A saloon's business model often included the offer of a free lunch , where the bill of fare commonly consisted of heavily salted food meant to induce thirst and the purchase of drink. During the Progressive Era (1890–1920), hostility toward saloons and their political influence became widespread, with

7140-549: Was often substituted for alcohol was for the Sterno , a denatured form of ethyl alcohol adulterated with methanol and a jelling agent, commonly known as "canned heat". Forcing the substance through a makeshift filter, such as a handkerchief, created a rough liquor substitute; however, the result was poisonous, though not often lethal. Making alcohol at home was common among some families with wet sympathies during Prohibition. Stores sold grape concentrate with warning labels that listed

7225-501: Was reviled in the press as an evil institution and a town shame. Swearengen (played by Ian McShane ) and the Gem are both portrayed in the HBO television show, Deadwood (2004–2006) and Deadwood: The Movie (2019), but in heavily modified form. The show's fictional Gem Saloon is already well-established when the show begins in August 1876 and in the movie, which takes place in 1889, it

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