Thursday, June 10, 2010

Prohibition and the Speakeasies

By Jen S. and Ceyana A.

Many things happened in the 1920’s. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly, the invention of bubble gum occurred, and many other exciting events and happenings made headlines. However, after a certain law was set into place, a rebellion began, one that was dark and devious. What was used to bring crime rates DOWN resulted, ironically, in the sky rocketing of gang activity and other criminal offences. This was the prohibition of alcohol in the United States and Canada, commonly referred to as Prohibition. People were not willing to accept these terms, and so the birth of the “speakeasy” came forth.

Speakeasies were hidden sections of an establishment that were used to illegally sell alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. Some speakeasies were similar to today’s clubs, as there was singing and jazz performances. To enter a speakeasy, one would need to say a password to the doorperson so that the doorperson would know whether or not they were really secret agents. It has been said that for every legal saloon before Prohibition, at LEAST half a dozen speakeasies were put up AFTER Prohibition. This was most likely because being the manager of a speakeasy was easy money. The word “speakeasy” came from a bartender’s term: people were supposed to “speak easy” when at a bar, meaning not to draw any suspicion towards buying alcoholic beverages by looking nervous or talking quickly. Slang words used for alcohol included, among others:

•coffin varnish
•white mule
•horse liniment
•monkey rum
•panther sweat
•rot gut
•tarantula juice

These code words were used so that people could fool law officials and the government from finding out about the speakeasies.

The people involved with speakeasies mainly revolved around gangs, who supplied the liquor, in particular Al Capone and his gang. People went to these speakeasies, or “blind pigs”, as a means to get alcohol after Prohibition came into effect. Speakeasies often featured jazz bands playing within their walls, and the flappers would dance the night away to the tunes of the twenties. The bartenders were often in cahoots with gangs, as well as the owners of the establishment, in concealing these hidden saloons. The owners often acted as doormen to the speakeasies, accepting the passwords to enter within the walls of the hidden bar, and got paid a fine profit for their efforts.

Speakeasies were found everywhere in the United States of America and Canada. Whether they were established underground, or hidden within stores and other businesses, in every urban establishment you entered, you were most likely not far off from an illegal party. These “secret gin joints” were most common in New York, especially in between 45th and 52nd street on 5th and 6th avenues, where almost every single building contained illegal liquor. Manhattans “21” club was probably the most secure club, with four safety switches that could be used during a raid to short circuit and cut the access to all of the doors that contained alcohol.

These establishments came into distinction in the United States during the period known as Prohibition, which was from 1920 to 1933. This lasted even longer in some states. Speakeasies became much more numerous as the Prohibition years progressed. The Volstead Act, which was passed on October 3, 1919, was the act stating that beverages over a 0.5 alcohol volume were illegal. After that day, more and more speakeasies started popping up all over the United States.

Speakeasies were established because of the Volstead Act. The Volstead Act was the act in which the prohibition of alcohol was enforced. Not long after the Act was put in place, people started hustling alcohol into illegal and concealed saloons. The provider of the alcohol would become very wealthy, as many people felt the need to indulge in alcoholic beverages. Therefore many gangsters and criminals or even just regular people found hustling illegal beverages a very profitable act.

To transport liquor to the speakeasies, they used hip flasks, false books, coconut shells, hot water bottles, and garden hoses. People stored the illegal liquor in carriages with babies perched on top and in carpenter’s aprons. There were even men caught hustling liquor over the border in boxes of eggs. They had drained the eggs of the original contents and refilled them with liquor.

In between all of the wild parties going on behind closed doors, the illegal transportation of liquor, and the skyrocketing of gang activities, Prohibition and the Speakeasies that resulted were definitely some of the most secretive and rebellious things to happen in the 1920s.

74 comments:

TurkTang said...

Good, but who started the speakeasies?

Anonymous said...

very good helped me with research

Anonymous said...

Huh, wow! I never would have gotten this much stuff anywhere else. Then again, I usually have a lot of stuff on my mind, too much to pay attention to things like this. I didn't know they had codes for the actual liquor...but wouldn't the music and the talking be heard by someone?

Anonymous said...

love this. you are a god. helped with 1920 newspaper

Anonymous said...

This was super duper fantastically amazingly helpful!

Anonymous said...

nice work! very helpful

Anonymous said...

hi

Anonymous said...

Well written and neatly put together also helpful and informative

Anonymous said...

yup... nope....

Anonymous said...

very good info....thanks

Anonymous said...

best article yet,tells you all about the business aspect of the wonderful speakeasy!

Captain Crebler said...

Hello,
Thanks for writing a great article. I featured it on my shows facebook page, check it out and "like" us if you love a good cocktail party as much as we do. Cheers!
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cookin-Up-Cocktails/721291857897327

Anonymous said...

thnx

Anonymous said...

this helped a lot

Anonymous said...

how many people were alcoholics during prohibition

Unknown said...

It's swaggy...................

Anonymous said...

this was mad swaggyyy

Anonymous said...

Most I guess. Great info!! Very interesting

Anonymous said...

not swag, but swank

Anonymous said...

awesome awesome information. Helped me a lot on my essay!

Anonymous said...

so much to read
also
is rly good

Abbie said...

Thank you!! This helped me with my homework!! :)

Anonymous said...

good info for a speech

Anonymous said...

good

Anonymous said...

good info super helpful thank you helped with an APUSH paper

Anonymous said...

Very helpful, I really liked it!
Thanks:)

Anonymous said...

I used to be a Dumb Dora (stupid girl) but now I'm a doll(smart girl) because of this swelled (wonderful) written piece of writing. I would give 5 clams (dollars) for it!

Anonymous said...

where are the sources (pictures) from?

Anonymous said...

whos the author and when what it maid

Anonymous said...

What about the zombies!!!!!!you forgot the ZOMBIES!

Anonymous said...

Ehh. This gave a lot of the similar information my 5th period teacher gave the class a few days ago. Good work!

Anonymous said...

How would you find out the password to a speakeasy??

Wrabbit007 said...

Typically you'd have to know someone who knew the password. Word of mouth, friends and friends of friends helped you enter speakeasies.

Anonymous said...

who came up with the idea to do these

Anonymous said...

LOVE YOU TO

Anonymous said...

Great Information, really helped me with revision!

Unknown said...

halla good

Anonymous said...

what do you call the people who smuggled the alcohol?

Anonymous said...

0.5% alcohol**** not 0.5 volume

Anonymous said...

I need more information about the author for my paper.

Anonymous said...

This was great and extremely helpful! It's the only article I've found that really goes in depth about the speakeasies, like with the passwords and transporting the liquor in egg cartons. It's very interesting, and the details are much needed in my historical fiction! Much appreciated :)

Anonymous said...

es var gut!

Anonymous said...

define speakesy

Anonymous said...

Swaggy 3000

Unknown said...

Thanks for the info, really helpful when writing this paper i got?!!!

Anonymous said...

great info

Anonymous said...

excellent info that's helpful to anyone with any sort of project or assignment.

Anonymous said...

helped a ton with research thanks!

Anonymous said...

i am creation a character them making a speech about them

Anonymous said...

yes.yes.yes!!!!!! thanks so much, this helped me a lot with my English project o Bugsy Malone and the 1920s xx ;)

Unknown said...

World History is not, therefore, the study of the histories of discrete cultures and states one after another and in isolation from one another. It is also not necessarily global history.

Anonymous said...

decent info

Anonymous said...

nice collection...happy to read this information,,,,, now started
Intresting Bars with Different Names

Anonymous said...

@Joseph C. Bartlett, You need to calm down. This article is well written and very informative.

Anonymous said...

this is not wery helpfully to myselfe

Anonymous said...

nice

Anonymous said...

helpful info !

Anonymous said...

very helpful thanks! I have a question tho, I thought speakeasies were the people who illegally went into the secret bars, so a speakeasy is the actual secret bar itself, not a person?

Wrabbit007 said...

Yes, the speakeasy was the actual place.

Austin King said...

wow

Anonymous said...

with these upgrade you never stood a chance

Anonymous said...

lit

Anonymous said...

isnt monkey rum a little obvious?

hotbreff said...

already knew most of this.

Anonymous said...

that was very handy

Anonymous said...

Thanks!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Read this 6 years to the day it came out. Making a speakeasy in my house. It was an informative article.
Richmond, IN

Anonymous said...

Hi, I need to cite my source. could you possibly give me your last names because I can't cite an S and a C as a last name for the writers. thank you

Wrabbit007 said...

Unfortunately due to the Freedom of Information Privacy Act we cannot share the last names of our writers.

Anonymous said...

whats up dudes

Anonymous said...

When exactly did Speakeasies start in Canada and who came up with Speakeasies?

Anonymous said...

eyyyy speakeasies

Unknown said...

No mentioning of why gin was drunk out of tea cups...

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