Cheers!
On this day in 1933, the 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment - Prohibition.
Prohibition took effect on January 29, 1920 but lost support in the early 30's. Billions of dollars were spent but sobriety was not taking the country by storm. Instead, people were bootlegging and the mafia were able to build criminal empires. Speakeasies became popular, and increasingly drinking became a more co-ed event than it had been prior to the Volstead Act.
The term "speakeasy" became the nickname for these saloons because people had to whisper a code word to enter.
Enoch Johnson ran the bootlegging (as well as gambling and prostitution) in Atlantic City.
"We have whiskey, wine, women, song, and slot machines. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it. If the majority of the people didn't want them they wouldn't be profitable and they would not exist. The fact that they do exist proves to me that people want them."
The show Boardwalk Empire from HBO portrays a fictional representation of Johnson, as Enoch Thompson, with a more sordid involvement in the scene.
So cheers to this day! I'll enjoy a beer - what's your preference??
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