Prohibition Bootlegging (1920-1933)
America’s “noble experiment” in alcohol prohibition created an instant criminal underground. Speakeasies replaced bars. Bootleggers became folk heroes. Amateur distillers produced moonshine with deadly impurities. Organized crime syndicates fought bloody turf wars over distribution territories. Law enforcement became hopelessly corrupted through massive bribery. Thousands died from poisoned alcohol containing methanol. This disastrous attempt at legislating morality required a constitutional amendment to finally undo.
