Ninety years ago, on January 16, 1920, the Senate and House overrode the veto of President Wilson and enacted into law a bill outlawing the production, sale, and transportation of all forms of liquor—The Volstead Act (18th Amendment).
Instead of reducing the consumption of alcohol as intended, Prohibition created the conditions that were ideal for criminal gangs to formulate an extensive criminal enterprise. Prohibition enabled organized gangsters to capitalize their profits from the new lucrative bootlegging industry and gave rise to some of the most notorious crime bosses in history including Al Capone, Dutch Schultz, Giuseppe "Joe, the Boss" Masseria, and Charles "Lucky" Luciano.
During the era of the 1920s, violence became widespread as innocent civilians became the casualties of gangland warfare. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929 represented the culmination of violence as rival gang members impersonating policemen gunned down seven victims of the George Moran gang. Eventually the bosses of this era became vulnerable to competing gang members and the criminal justice system.
With the repeal of Prohibition, the gangsters of this era expanded their interests into other forms of illegal and legal activities including intimidation of labor unions, racketeering, manufacturing, gambling, and narcotics. However, it was the enactment of prohibition that gave rise to the modern day conception of organized crime.
Learning Activity
The illegal sale and production of drugs today is a multibillion dollar criminal industry. Many citizens see the parallels between the failure of Prohibition to stop consumption of alcohol and the growth of organized crime to the War on Drugs initiative's failure to stop the consumption of drugs while empowering the growth of drug lords. Does history teach us anything about solving social problems?
Students should create a report of at least 150 words, or a presentation of at least seven slides (links to models provided at end of activity) that cites at least three resources. Students should address the following essential questions for critical thinking (you can create or substitute others):
Who were the people and groups who pushed Congress to pass the Volstead Act?
What were the benefits expected from the passage of Prohibition?
Why did organized crime start and flourish during this era?
What parallels do you see in the present era with organized crime and drugs?
Pathfinder
Click the Topics tab > The Roaring '20s (c. 1920 - 1929) > Rise of Organized Crime
Use our custom ProQuest models for written or PowerPoint reports written and PowerPoint-style reports.
