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Speakeasy



 
 
A speakeasy was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
s during the period of United States history
History of the United States

The first known inhabitants of modern-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000 - 50,000 years ago by crossing Beringia into Alaska....
 known as Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States

In the history of the United States, Prohibition is the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of Alcoholic beverage for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution....
 (1920–1932, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging
Rum-running

Rum-running is the business of smuggling or transporting of alcoholic beverages illegally, usually to circumvent taxation or prohibition. The term usually applies to transport of goods over water, over land it is commonly referred to as bootlegging....
) of alcohol was illegal. The term comes from a patron’s manner of ordering an alcoholic drink without raising suspicion — bartenders would tell patrons to be quiet and “speak easy.”

Speakeasies became more popular and numerous as the Prohibition years progressed, and more of them were operated by people connected to organized crime
Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations comprise groups or operations run by crimes, most commonly for the purpose of generating a money profit....
.






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A speakeasy was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
s during the period of United States history
History of the United States

The first known inhabitants of modern-day United States territory are believed to have arrived over a period of several thousand years beginning sometime prior to 15,000 - 50,000 years ago by crossing Beringia into Alaska....
 known as Prohibition
Prohibition in the United States

In the history of the United States, Prohibition is the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of Alcoholic beverage for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution....
 (1920–1932, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging
Rum-running

Rum-running is the business of smuggling or transporting of alcoholic beverages illegally, usually to circumvent taxation or prohibition. The term usually applies to transport of goods over water, over land it is commonly referred to as bootlegging....
) of alcohol was illegal. The term comes from a patron’s manner of ordering an alcoholic drink without raising suspicion — bartenders would tell patrons to be quiet and “speak easy.”

Speakeasies became more popular and numerous as the Prohibition years progressed, and more of them were operated by people connected to organized crime
Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations comprise groups or operations run by crimes, most commonly for the purpose of generating a money profit....
. Although police and Bureau of Prohibition
Bureau of Prohibition

The Bureau of Prohibition was the Federal government of the United States law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture...
 agents would raid them and arrest the owners and patrons, the business of running speakeasies was so lucrative that they continued to flourish throughout America
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. In major cities, speakeasies were often quite elaborate, offering food, live music, floor shows, and striptease dancers
Striptease

A striptease or exotic dance is a form of erotic entertainment, usually a dance, in which the performer, known as a "stripper", gradually undresses, in a teasing and sexually suggestive manner, to music....
. Corruption
Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of governmental powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption....
 was rampant — speakeasy operators routinely bribed police to leave them alone or to give them advance notice of raids.

Blind pig and blind tiger are terms for an establishment similar to a speakeasy.

Blind pigs


The term blind pig (or blind tiger) originated in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 in the 1800s; it was applied to establishments that sold alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
s illegally. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a “complimentary” alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law.

“In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously.”


The difference between a speakeasy and a blind pig was that a speakeasy was usually a higher-class establishment that offered food, music, or entertainment, or even all three. In large cities, some speakeasies even required a coat and tie for men, and evening dress
Evening gown

An evening gown is a long, flowing lady dress usually worn to a formal affair. It ranges in length from tea and ballerina to full-length. Gowns are often made of a luxury fabric such as chiffon , velvet, satin, or silk....
 for women. But a blind pig was usually a low-class dive
Dive bar

A dive bar, or simply a dive, is a downmarket Alcoholic beverage bar serving a working class clientele.The term "dive" dates from the London of the 19th century when younger men wanted somewhere slightly more risqu? to spend their afternoons than the great clubs frequented by their fathers....
 where only beer and liquor were offered.

Estimates of the number of blind pigs in some major American cities in the mid-1920s are:

  • Chicago, Illinois: 10,000
  • Detroit, Michigan
    Detroit, Michigan

    Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
    : 15,000
  • New York City, New York: 30,000-100,000


Prohibition

The federal Volstead Act
Volstead Act

The Volstead Act, which reinforced the prohibition of alcohol in the United States of America, was popularly named after Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversaw its passage....
, which was passed with new authority from the Eighteenth Amendment
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Amendment XVIII of the United States Constitution, along with the Volstead Act , established Prohibition in the United States. Its ratification was certified on January 29, 1919....
, put Prohibition into effect on January 16, 1920. It lasted for almost 14 years. After years of lobbying by the temperance movement
Temperance movement

A temperance movement attempts to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed within a community or society in general -- and even to prohibit its production and consumption entirely....
 (mainly by the Anti-Saloon League
Anti-Saloon League

The Anti-Saloon League was the leading organization lobbying for Prohibition in the United States in the early 20th century. It was a key component of the Progressive Movement, and was strongest in the American South and rural North, drawing heavy support from pietistic Protestant ministers and their congregations, especially Methodists, Bap...
 and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Woman's Christian Temperance Union

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union is the oldest continuing non-sectarian women's organization worldwide. Founded in Evanston, Illinois in 1873, the group spearheaded the crusade for prohibition....
), the state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
s had passed laws forbidding the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

The first state to go entirely “dry
Dry county

A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both....
” was Kansas
Kansas

The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....
 in 1881. States that did not go dry were called “wet states.”

See also


  • Alcohol laws of Kansas
    Alcohol laws of Kansas

    The alcohol laws of Kansas are among the strictest in the United States, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri , but much like its other neighboring state of Oklahoma ....
  • Prohibition
    Prohibition

    Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as The Noble Experiment, refers to a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol....
  • Prohibition in the United States
    Prohibition in the United States

    In the history of the United States, Prohibition is the period from 1920 to 1933, during which the sale, manufacture, and transportation of Alcoholic beverage for consumption were banned nationally as mandated in the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution....
  • Smokeasy
    Smokeasy

    A smokeasy is a business, especially a Bar , which allows smoking despite a smoking ban enacted as a criminal law or an occupational safety and health regulation....
  • Shebeen
    Shebeen

    Chiefly in Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Zimbabwe, a shebeen is an illicit bar or club where excisable alcoholic beverages are sold without a licence....


Bibliography


  • Loretta Britten, Paul Mathless, Ed. Our American Century Jazz Age: The 20’s. 1998. New York: Bishop books inc., 1969.
  • “The Dry Years” The Roaring Twenties Encyclopedia. 2007 Ed.
  • The Twenties: The American destiny. London: Orbis Book Publishing Corporation Ltd. 1986.
  • Kahn, Gordon, and Al Hirschfeld. (1932, rev. 2003). The Speakeasies of 1932. New York: Glenn Young Books. ISBN 1-557-83518-7.