Speakeasies In The 1920s

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Recommended: Aspects of the roaring twenties

Prohibition and Speakeasies: One of the Most Secretive Acts to Happen in the 1920’s
An Annotated Bibliography
"History of the Roaring Twenties." History of the Roaring Twenties. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Speakeasies were bars where they illegally sold alcohol during the Prohibition. They are like clubs today where they had music and dancing. They had jazz performances as well. They also had passwords for those who weren’t policemen. It was a huge secret during this era. For every one bar open before the prohibition about a half dozen were put up after prohibition. There were so many names for the speakeasies but these were used to fool the law officials. Most speakeasies revolved around gangs in order to get the alcohol. If you were in a store …show more content…

18th Amendment was also known as the Volstead Act. Idea for the prohibition was to reduce crime, poverty and to improve the quality of life. Tried to make it impossible to for Americans to put their hands on alcohol. People drank even more, crime rates went up and there were more deaths due to alcohol during the prohibition. Regular people hid their alcohol in flasks and hollowed-out canes. In some speakeasies the alcohol was served in tea cups just in case police came in a raid. Months after the prohibition came to be a law, women got the right to vote. The prohibition was a joke to most Americans. In 1929 the party was shut down due the stock market crash. The “roaring twenties” ended in economic chaos.
"Speakeasies of the Prohibition Era." LEGENDS OF AMERICA. 2003. Web. 04 Nov. 2015.
Supposedly there were over 100,000 saloons in New York at one time. Business leaders thought that if alcohol was withheld from the workers they’d be more productive. John D. Rockefeller alone donated over $350,000 to the Anti-Saloon League. Henry Ford stated “The country couldn't run without Prohibition. That is the industrial fact.” It started even before 1920. Over 21 states had banned saloons by 1916. Specific hand shake, password or secret knock was used in order to in the speakeasy. Women surprisingly didn’t drink much. The women did dance though, and they did it a …show more content…

I. Speakeasies started because of the Volstead Act, also known as The Prohibition.
a. Businesses wanted to move forward within their industry, so by taking away alcohol they thought it would become more productive.
b. Idea of the Prohibition was to reduce crime rates, poverty, and to improve the quality of life.
c. It became very hard for people to get a hold of alcohol at this time in American History.
II. Behind almost every business there was a secret saloon either underground or hidden in the back of the store.
a. For every one bar open before the Prohibition, about a half dozen speakeasies were open to replace it.
b. They were like today’s clubs and had performances and dancing.
c. Speakeasies were revolved around gangs.
d. Speakeasies were a place where gang members, ordinary people, and famous people all went in order to have a good time.
III. The Speakeasies lasted for a long time being one of the greatest secrets of all time.
a. They lasted for over ten years.
b. On Dec. 5, 1933 President Roosevelt favored the repeal, and the Twenty-First Amendment officially repealed the Eighteenth

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