Bootlegging & Speakeasies

    While many Americans may have supported Prohibition and its believed improvement of health, behavior, and society, many more came to resent the concept and missed social traditions such as bar going with friends. This lead to a rise in bootlegging (in US history, bootlegging is considered the illegal manufacture, transport, distribution, or sale of alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition period) and speakeasies, which are illegal bars where patrons had to use a password to gain entry, and were located in secret locations like basements or warehouses. But, to run these secret bars, one needed a ready supply of "high-quality" alcohol and protection from low-level criminal gangs and law enforcement. The Mafia, which I briefly covered in the last post, had the manpower and resources to make this happen.