When the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished the sale and distribution of alcohol, took effect on January 17, 1920, its supporters believed it would cure every problem that America suffered from, including crime, drunkenness,

gambling, child neglect, and more. But none of them could have guessed. It would do the opposite.

Prohibition gave birth to what has been called the golden age of organized crime. American gangsters

who had previously concerned themselves with racketeering, extortion,

prostitution, and gambling began to make huge amounts of money on the sale of illegal liquor,

which built criminal empires.

Even the passage of the Volstead Act, which allowed officials to enforce the new liquor laws,

had little effect because America's thirst for newly forbidden liquor bred corruption in every corner of the nation.

Police officers and politicians took bribes to look the other way as gangsters manufactured transported and smuggled booze.

It was easy money.

And the cops figured it was harmless since it was such an unpopular law and the bootleggers were just, quote,

given the people what they wanted.

Thanks to this, prohibition didn't stop anyone from drinking.

In fact, it made drinking even more popular because it was no longer allowed.

Across the country, liquor cellars opened more than 200,000 speakeasies.

Those hidden drinking spots where the patrons and the entertainment had to be quiet.

To avoid raids by honest cops and federal agents,

as hard as those were to find.

Disrespect for the law became the fashion,

as people who would have never dreamed of doing anything illegal,

were now serving illicit liquor in their homes or drinking in the neighborhood,

speak easy.

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