Prohibition Era | Clever Ways Booze Was Hidden

Summary

This video explores the era of Prohibition in the U.S. (1920-1933) when the 18th Amendment banned the manufacturing, sale, and transport of alcohol. Despite the law, Americans found inventive ways to continue drinking. From simple methods like hiding flasks in clothing to more elaborate schemes such as hollow canes, false-bottomed containers, and even using animals, people defied the ban. Large-scale smuggling operations used cars, boats, and even underwater torpedoes to transport liquor. Eventually, public opposition grew, leading to the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 with the 21st Amendment.

Takeaways

• 📜 The 18th Amendment from 1920 to 1933 prohibited the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the US.
• 🍾 Wealthy individuals could stockpile alcohol before Prohibition, while others relied on prescriptions or sacramental purposes to obtain it.
• 🤓 Creative methods like flasks, thigh flasks, and hidden pockets in clothing were used to smuggle and conceal alcohol.
• 👮‍♀️ Authorities targeted specific groups less, such as women, leading to more successful smuggling attempts by them.
• 📚 Disguises like hollow canes, book flasks, and false bottoms in bags were popular for hiding alcohol.
• 🐮 Innovative tricks included using animal products and even disguising as animals, like the 'cow shoes' trick.
• 🚤 High-level smugglers organized sophisticated operations, such as the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, which became a significant industry.
• ❄️ In cold conditions, smugglers drove cars across frozen rivers and used speedboats when the ice was not an obstacle.
• 🔧 Smugglers even used repurposed military equipment like torpedoes and U-boats to transport alcohol under the water.
• 🚨 The increase in crime and the Great Depression led to a shift in public opinion, ultimately leading to the repeal of Prohibition with the 21st Amendment.

Q & A

What was the 18th Amendment, and how did it impact the United States?

The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States. This period, known as Prohibition, lasted until 1933 and led to a rise in illegal activities related to alcohol smuggling and production.

How did people legally obtain alcohol during Prohibition?

People could legally obtain alcohol for sacramental purposes or through prescriptions written by doctors. As a result, rabbis and doctors became very popular during Prohibition.

What were some creative methods used by individuals to smuggle alcohol during Prohibition?

Smugglers used a variety of methods, including hiding alcohol in flasks, sewing pockets into clothing, creating hollow canes, using false bottoms in bags, and even disguising themselves as animals with shoes that mimicked cow hooves.

Why were women often more successful at smuggling alcohol during Prohibition?

Women were often more successful because authorities were less inclined to search them thoroughly due to the social norms of the time. Some women hid alcohol in their clothing or under nun's habits, while others used baby strollers.

What role did innovation play in alcohol smuggling during Prohibition?

Innovation was key to smuggling during Prohibition. People used creative tricks like hollow canes, flask books, and false-bottom bags to discreetly transport alcohol. More sophisticated operations involved hiding alcohol in cars, boats, and even underwater torpedoes.

What was the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, and why was it significant during Prohibition?

The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel was a smuggling route from Ontario, Canada, into Michigan. It became a significant part of the illegal alcohol trade, contributing to a $215 million industry that made it the second largest in Michigan during Prohibition.

How did rum runners use technology to smuggle alcohol across the Detroit River?

Rum runners used speed boats, cable systems, and motorized pulleys to transport alcohol across the Detroit River. In one case, they used torpedoes filled with liquor to move 40 cases of alcohol every hour from Canada to the U.S.

What was the impact of Prohibition on public opinion and the economy?

Prohibition eventually shifted public opinion against temperance, especially during the Great Depression. Legalizing alcohol was seen as a way to create jobs and boost the economy, leading to the repeal of the 18th Amendment with the 21st Amendment in 1933.

What were some of the larger, more organized operations for smuggling alcohol?

Large-scale operations involved building secret compartments in cars, boats, and using World War I German U-boats to smuggle alcohol from Canada into the U.S. These sophisticated methods helped transport large quantities of alcohol despite the efforts of authorities.

How did the discovery of cow shoes in Florida reflect the creativity of smugglers?

Cow shoes, discovered in a Florida forest in 1922, had soles that left prints resembling cow hooves. This method was likely inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story and was an attempt to evade law enforcement by disguising human tracks as animal tracks.

Outlines

00:00

🥃 Prohibition Era's Creative Smuggling Methods

This paragraph delves into the ingenious methods employed during the Prohibition era in the United States (1920-1933) to circumvent the 18th Amendment's ban on alcohol production, sale, and transportation. Despite the law, the affluent were able to stockpile alcohol, while others relied on religious or medical exemptions. The general populace resorted to smuggling, utilizing simple yet effective techniques such as flasks, thigh flasks, and hidden pockets in clothing. Women often found success due to societal norms that made authorities less likely to search them thoroughly. More audacious tactics included hollow canes, book flasks, and false bottoms in bags and trunks. Desperate measures like hiding alcohol in eggs or using animal disguises were also mentioned. The paragraph illustrates the resourcefulness and defiance of the American public during this period.

05:01

🚤 High-Stakes Rum Running and Prohibition's End

The second paragraph explores the organized crime that emerged in response to Prohibition, focusing on large-scale smuggling operations. It details the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel, a significant alcohol pipeline from Canada into the U.S., and the use of speedboats and ice crossings to transport alcohol. The paragraph also describes the innovative use of torpedoes and German U-boats to smuggle liquor underwater. As crime rates rose, so did law enforcement efforts, leading to increased public inconvenience and a shift in opinion against Prohibition. The economic benefits of legal alcohol production, coupled with the Great Depression, contributed to the 21st Amendment's repeal of Prohibition in 1933, ending what was known as America's 'noble experiment.'

Keywords

💡18th Amendment

The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, enacted in 1920, prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol. It marks the beginning of Prohibition, a period that deeply impacted American society. In the video, this is central to the theme, highlighting how Americans circumvented the law to continue drinking.

💡Prohibition

Prohibition refers to the nationwide ban on alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933 under the 18th Amendment. It created a wave of illegal activity, including smuggling and bootlegging, as people sought creative ways to obtain alcohol. The video explores the resourcefulness of Americans in bypassing this restriction.

💡Volstead Act

The Volstead Act, passed in 1919, was legislation that defined and enforced Prohibition under the 18th Amendment. It provided specifics on what constituted illegal alcohol production and distribution. The script mentions this act as a catalyst for people needing to get creative in their pursuit of alcohol.

💡Bootlegging

Bootlegging refers to the illegal production, distribution, and sale of alcohol during Prohibition. Many individuals and groups engaged in this activity to meet the demand for alcohol. The video describes various bootlegging methods, such as smuggling flasks in clothing or using cars and boats for larger operations.

💡Rum running

Rum running is the smuggling of alcohol, typically via ships, across borders during Prohibition. The video illustrates how rum runners used boats, hidey holes, and even torpedo systems to transport alcohol from places like Canada to the US. It became a highly organized and profitable operation.

💡Flapper

A flapper refers to the modern, liberated women of the 1920s who defied traditional norms, often seen wearing short skirts and bobbed hair. In the video, a stylish flapper is mentioned as an example of someone hiding alcohol in a thigh flask, illustrating how women exploited social norms to smuggle booze.

💡Speakeasy

Though not explicitly mentioned in the script, speakeasies were illegal bars that operated during Prohibition. These hidden establishments were where people could secretly drink alcohol. The video alludes to the demand for hidden or discreet drinking methods, which fueled the popularity of places like speakeasies.

💡Smuggling

Smuggling during Prohibition involved the covert transportation of alcohol across borders or through secretive methods. The video describes a wide variety of smuggling techniques, from concealing alcohol in clothing and hollowed-out objects to more sophisticated operations like torpedo systems and hidden car compartments.

💡False bottom

A false bottom is a hidden compartment often used in containers like bags, trunks, or boxes to conceal contraband, in this case, alcohol. The video explains how people during Prohibition used false bottoms in various objects, like loaves of bread or tools, to hide their liquor from authorities.

💡21st Amendment

The 21st Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the 18th Amendment and ended Prohibition. It reflects the shifting public opinion during the Great Depression, as people began to see the economic benefits of legalizing alcohol. The video concludes with the 21st Amendment, marking the end of America's 'noble experiment.'

Highlights

The 18th Amendment and Volstead Act led to creative methods for alcohol consumption and smuggling during Prohibition.

Wealthy individuals could stockpile alcohol before Prohibition, while others relied on prescriptions or sacramental purposes.

The flask, a simple and ancient method, was used for personal alcohol transport.

Innovative hiding places like thigh flasks and garter pockets were employed to conceal alcohol.

Jennie MacGregor's bootlegger life preserver trick was an example of larger-scale smuggling attempts.

Smugglers used vests with hidden pockets, which were sometimes modeled by law enforcement post-arrest.

Clothing with built-in pockets, like aprons, was a common method for concealing alcohol.

Women often had an advantage in hiding alcohol due to societal norms of the time.

Creative hiding places included nun's habits and baby strollers.

The hollow cane was a popular and enduring method for discreet alcohol transport.

Book flasks like 'Spring Poems The Four Swallows' were used for hiding alcohol.

False bottoms in bags and trunks were utilized for smuggling alcohol.

Innovative methods included hiding bottles in loaves of bread and hollowed-out baseball bats.

Animal kingdom was enlisted for smuggling, with secret compartments in dead animals and eggs used for concealment.

The cow shoes trick, inspired by Sherlock Holmes, was used to disguise footprints.

High-level smugglers built hidey holes in cars and boats and organized complex smuggling systems.

The Windsor-Detroit Tunnel was a major alcohol smuggling route during Prohibition.

Rum runners used torpedoes and U-boats for underwater smuggling operations.

The Great Depression and public opinion shift led to the repeal of Prohibition with the 21st Amendment.

Transcripts

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Beginning in 1920 and lasting until 1933,

the US lived under the shadow of the 18th amendment, which

prohibited the manufacturing, sale,

and transportation of booze.

Naturally, the inventiveness of the American spirit

kept alcoholic spirits flowing the entire time.

A year after the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act,

which detailed the specifics of how the amendment would

be enforced, people had to start getting creative if they

wanted to keep drinking.

Actually that's not entirely true.

The amendment didn't stop people from drinking alcohol

just from making, selling, or transporting it.

Those with enough money were able to stockpile booze

for the entire year before the laws went into effect.

People unable to stockpile were only

able to buy alcohol if they used it for sacramental purposes

or if their doctors wrote them a prescription for it.

Needless to say, rabbis and doctors became very popular.

Everyone else looking to wet their whistle

took to smuggling from small scale personal use

up to large scale operations.

The go to method was the easiest--

the flask has been around since early humans

started carrying water around in leather vessels.

There was no simpler method of squirreling away

a few sips of your favorite spirit

than tucking it into a garter or jacket pocket.

If the gambit worked with a few sips,

why not dream a little bigger and create the thigh flask

trick, like this stylish flapper back in 1928

under her floppy overcoat.

Just as we'll never know how she held the flasks in place,

we'll never know if she was successful.

Jennie MacGregor was definitely not successful

when she tried to go even bigger with the bootleggers life

preserver trick.

She was nabbed by federal agents in 1924.

This gentleman was simply demonstrating

for Detroit reporters how the booze mule trick worked.

However, these vests were being modeled

by cops using culprits after their smuggling attempts were

thwarted.

Numerous examples of failed attempts

didn't deter people from trying variations on the theme.

Instead of mule vests, many thirsty folks

sewed pockets into their clothing,

often in the lining of a jacket.

Some people sported their pockets in plain sight

wearing professional aprons like those used by carpenters

and factory workers.

This gamble more frequently paid off

for women whom the authorities were

less inclined to search thoroughly

due to the social mores of the day.

That's a fact that daring women were

willing to exploit going so far as to hide alcohol

under a nun's habit or in a baby stroller.

Hiding booze in plain sight was made even easier

through the invention of the hollow cane.

The hollow cane trick proved effective and popular enough

that it lasts to this day.

Even mainstream websites, like Amazon,

sell modern versions of flask canes and tippling sticks.

Someone looking for an even more discreet option

could purchase a flask that looked like a book.

Next, the famously tongue in cheek book flask

titled Spring Poems The Four Swallows held four glass vials.

Get it?

The four swallows of booze.

False bottoms were popular.

People built them into bags, trunks, and pet carriers.

Would be smugglers relied on innovation to help them

carry their liquor from A to B. But had they

been successful we probably wouldn't know that people tried

hiding bottles in loaves of bread

or hollowed out baseball bats or construction materials

and other professional tools of the trade.

Like the man who attempted the tailor's dummy trick only

to have his papier-mache dress form

seized by the Philadelphia authorities in 1930

where they discovered 12 pints of alcohol

in a secret compartment.

Hopeful smugglers enlisted the animal kingdom

to help them hide their hooch.

Secret compartments were created in dead critters as well as

respective fauna.

The egg trick was a particularly painstaking endeavor

that required a person to hollow out an egg,

inject it with liquor, and seal it back up.

Custom agents had to be lucky enough

for the person to drop an egg or for them

to break one during a thorough inspection, which

is what happened to one Ukrainian housewife.

Her nationality gives us a clue as to the origin of the idea.

Ukrainians are well-known for their delicate handling

of the fragile produce during the creation of decorated eggs

called pysanka.

When criminals weren't concealing their alcohol

in animal products, they were disguising themselves

as animals.

The cow shoes trick was discovered

in a Florida forest in 1922 when one smuggler left behind shoes

with soles that looked like cow hooves.

It's an idea that probably came from the Sherlock Holmes

short story, "The Adventures of the Priory School"

where the villain fashioned his horse shoes to leave

the prints of cow hooves.

It must have worked because a similar trick was

used after Prohibition with World War II Dutch smugglers

wearing clogs that had soles that

made it look as if they were walking in the other direction.

These methods of smuggling were unique but definitely not

the most effective.

For a better return on the risk you

have to look at the practices of the high level smugglers.

They built hidey holes into cars and boats

and organized elaborate systems of completing the task.

The operation became extremely organized.

The ironically sophisticated crime

that cropped up in response to America's effort

to crack down on crime grew beyond simple smuggling

and into the realm of rum running.

The pipeline from Ontario, Canada

into Michigan known as Windsor-Detroit Tunnel

brought so much alcohol into the supposedly dry United States

that the $215 million per year industry

became the second largest in the state of Detroit.

The multiple islands in the Detroit River

made policing difficult. And any attempt made by the authorities

to curtail the illegal influx was meticulously circumvented

with things like speed boats.

This photo printed in a 1929 edition of the "Detroit News"

shows how the careful positioning of a lookout

was essential to the operation.

When it wasn't possible to use speed boats

in the frozen river, criminals took the driving cars

across the ice.

They weren't always successful.

Impressive as it was, all of this effort

paled in comparison to what rum runners were doing

under the water with torpedoes.

In 1932, federal agents saw strange ripples

in the Detroit River.

They discovered that rum runners were filling empty torpedoes

with liquor after fitting them with air compartments that

allowed them to float.

They then used a cable and a motorized pulley system

to transport 40 cases of booze every hour into the US

from a Canadian boat house a mile away.

A comparable operation used World War I German U-boats

to smuggle booze from Canada into New Jersey and Cape Cod.

The more crime there was the more raids

the authorities needed to perform

and the more law abiding citizens

were hassled in the process.

Public opinion shifted away from temperance.

The onset of the Great Depression

underscored the impracticality of the prohibition era.

Legal alcohol production would mean the creation of new jobs.

So in 1933, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th ending

what many referred to as America's noble experiment.

[MUSIC PLAYING]