As Prohibition commenced in 1920, Progressives and temperance activists envisioned an age of moral and social reform. But over the next decade, the “noble experiment” produced crime, violence, and a flourishing illegal liquor trade.
Famous gangsters and ordinary citizens alike capitalized and profited from the illegal alcohol market. From Los Angeles to Chicago to New York, organized crime syndicates supplied speakeasies and underground establishments with large quantities of beer and liquor. These complex bootlegging operations used rivers and waterways to smuggle alcohol across state lines.
These pictures come from a court case typical of the type investigated during Prohibition concerning the manufacturing of alcohol.
