1. PROHIBITION, CRIME & SCANDAL By: Jennifer, Cassandra, Viviana, and Vanesa Ms. Madrid Period. 2 2-21-15

2. WHAT IS PROHIBITION?

3. Prohibition is a law or regulation forbidding something. In the 1920’s prohibition meant ban on the sale and production of alcohol beverages. Alcohol was a big problem during this time that caused abuse, ruined careers and ruined marriages.

4. WHAT KIND OF SCANDALS DID PROHIBITION LEAD TO?

5. Prohibition lead to… Rise of gangsters Concepts of morality change Protest Many people breaking the law Great Sacramento wine scandal in N.Y The stock market crash(1929) The great depression San Diego’s prohibition scandal

6. WHAT IS SPEAKEASY?

7. Speakeasy were bars that were hidden during prohibition due to the fact that no one was able to drink. They sold there drinks for around $5 and up. People also referred Speakeasy to “Blind Tiger” or “Blind Pig”. Everyone who attended at the bar had to make sure not to be seen by police and had to be kept a secret. The first owner of a bar to smuggle alcohol was a woman named Kate Hester. When the word spreader out on the secret bar, other bar owners decided to smuggle alcohol as well. Then earned twice the amount of money they earned when prohibition wasn’t a law. Those who got caught by the police would be arrested. Not only did speakeasy's have alcohol, it also had entertainment such as plays, table dancers, music, and more. The majority of people who went to the bars were men and for that reason bar owners added the things they liked. Some women also went to have a good time and got many men buying them drinks. Many bar owners were caught but no matter how much bars were closed down, there would always be more speakeasy's. When speakeasy was removed, bars went back how they used to be.

8. WHAT TYPES OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES WERE POPULAR?

9. In the 1920s, the types of illegal activities were prostitutions, bootlegging and gambling. Bootlegging is also known as rum- running and means illegally smuggling alcohol beverages. The police knew about most illegal activities but allowed it to continue if they were bribed. Well known robbers, outlaws, and criminals were Bonnie and Clyde.

10. WHY WAS THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB TRIAL SO DISTURBING?

11. In 1924 the case of Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb was one of the most disturbing trials of the 20 th century. The two 19 and 18 year old boys abducted and murdered a 14 year old boy. They were found guilty and the U.S. Supreme Court demanded a speedy execution. Their attorney, Clarence Darrow use the case to open the eyes of the public on how cruel and destructive capital punishment is. Darrow’s two hour inspirational speech convinced Judge Caverly to dismiss the execution, but sentenced the boys to 99 years in prison. This disturbed the public because they considered it to be a crime just as bad as the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh. They did not believe that the boys’ homosexuality or “mental illness” was not their reason to kill the 14 year old. There were a lot of controversies because not many agreed to why the boys were not executed. Rumors went around saying that the only reason why they weren’t killed was because of their famous lawyer and their wealth. It took about 52 years for the U.S. Supreme court to agree on restoring the death penalty in 1976 after rethinking the Leopold and Loeb case.

12. WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO CONCEPTS OF MORALITY DURING THIS ERA?

13. During this era, the concept of morality was how men shouldn’t be drinking alcohol because they would waste their wages on alcohol. Women were not allowed to work, so the men's wages were all they had, but since they spend it all on alcohol there was no money to buy food. Once the men wasted their wages, they became in debt, later on leading to poverty and homelessness. Men who drank were looked down too and classified as criminals by most people.

14. Interesting Fact #1

15. One of the most well known criminals in the 1920’s was Al Capone also known as “Scarface”. He was an American gangster who did many crimes such as steal and murder. He was the boss of his own gang which were one of the most powerful gangs at that time. He had hobbies such as prostitutions, gambling, and bootlegging. He was a multi-millionaire and was a very well known and powerful man. He was suspected for various assaults, murders, and rapes. He went to court many times but had small times in jail until one crime scene where he was charged with 11 years imprisonment. He spent his years in prison in the famous Alcatraz. He got 6 months off his original prison due to good behavior. When he got out of prison, he was sent to a hospital for all the mistreatments they did to him. In 1947 he died in Miami for cardiac arrest. He is still well known for all the crimes he did and is one of the top gangsters ever known to live.

16. Interesting Fact #2

17. GEORGE REMUS George Remus was a trained pharmacist and lawyer was known as the “King of Bootleggers”. Remus defended criminals who were getting rich off bootlegging. After his experience of defending several criminals about the same crime, he wanted to do the same to get rich too. Remus started studying the Volstead Act; the law that enforced Prohibition, and soon found several loopholes. With the start of prohibition, Remus left Chicago to Cincinnati. He bought several factories for alcohol manufacturing and hired about 3,000 employees to work for him. He made them steal his own legal, medical alcohol which he would sell to other bootleggers and made millions, Remus’ fortune soon ran out in 1925 when he was charged with thousands of violations of the Volstead Act and was sentenced to a two-year prison term.