Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America

by Edward Samuel Behr

Profiles the Prohibition era as a rollicking period of crime, corruption, and unprecedented alcohol consumption, offering insight into how anti-drinking laws actually spurred former law-abiding citizens into brewing moonshine, becoming rumrunners, and frequenting speakeasies. Reissue.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Research, American History, True Crime, Historical, 20th Century

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1996

About the author

Edward Samuel Behr was a journalist; he worked primarily as a foreign & war correspondent. He began his career in the early 1950s with the Reuters news agency, then worked for Time-Life, serving as bureau chief in several cities around the world for Time Magazine. He then took a position with Newsweek in 1965 as Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong. Later in his career, Mr. Behr also made a number of documentaries for the BBC. He wrote several books during his life on various subjects, including a memoir which was published in 1978.

Reviews

[Arminius · Rating 4 out of 5]

In America from 1920 to 1933 a grand experiment was tried on a divided issue of alcohol consumption. There was a huge push from groups like the Anti Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement to have alcohol distribution and consumption stopped. Wayne Wheeler as the head of the Anti Saloon League was able to muster together loose alliances such as wives of husbands who spent their money in saloons rather than on the household and anti-German citizens who resented the German immigrants making of money from owning most of the breweries. Wheeler wielded considerable power in the political arena providing campaign funding for many pro prohibitionists.

The bill that was introduced to the U.S. Congress was called the Volstead Act after Congressman Andrew Volstead who managed the bill. Its purpose was stated as to prohibit intoxicating beverages, to regulate the manufacture, sale, or transport of intoxicating liquor, and to ensure an ample supply of alcohol and promote its use in scientific research and in the development of fuel, dye and other lawful industries and practices, such as religious rituals.

The Congress approved it over the veto of President Woodrow Wilson. And after the 36 necessary states ratified the Volstead Act it was added to the U.S. Constitution as the 21st amendment.
The problem with the law was that the government was too small to enforce it. In consequence, Speak easies quadrupled and underground alcohol distribution became prevalent. In fact, New York City had more than 30,000 speak easy establishments in 1925 alone.

Many distributors became enormously wealthy. One such man was George Remus. Remus ran a distribution center in Cincinnati Ohio. He paid off politicians, policeman and judges to protect him and lived as an outstanding member of the community. However, his luck changed when he was convicted of violations of the Volstead Act and sentenced to two years in the Atlanta Federal penitentiary. There he confided in an undercover probation officer named Franklin Dodge whom he told that his wife had control of his money. Dodge took that information and met Imogene Remus (George’s wife). He convinced Imogene to withdraw all George’s money and empty all his household valuables which included letters written by George Washington. Imogene also filed for a divorced when George was in prison.

When George was released from jail, he went to his home and found it completely empty. Shortly afterward, surprisingly Imogene was found dead from gunshot wounds. As a consequence, George was not only broke but was also brought up on murder charges for killing Imogene.

In a sensational trial, it was uncovered that Franklin Dodge and Imogene had planned trying to get a federal deportation ruling and if that failed they planned on murdering George. George was acquitted in 1927 and this information had much to do with it. Afterward George moved from Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky and lived a modest life until his death in 1952.

Prohibition had issued in a slew of gangsters and an eye opening look at corruption which had caused many people began to turn against it. In addition, the ardent spoke person, Wayne Wheeler, for the support of prohibition had passed way in 1927. And as a result, it was appealed in 1933.

The author states the just 5% of prohibition violators were prosecuted. He also claims that just 10% of the current “War on Drugs” violators have been prosecuted and more than half the prison population is in jail due to drug violations. Does prohibition give us a historical reference to base the War on Drugs On? Maybe So.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually when I can't think of much to say about a book I'll go with "it was well-written", faint praise at best as one would hope a book that managed to get published was at least not poorly written. But I can't even muster up that much enthusiasm for this book. Maybe I've just been run ragged or fighting my biological impulse to hibernate lately, but I fell asleep more while reading Prohibition than any recent book I can remember. It didn't hold my attention at all, and some of the author's stylistic tics and repeated cliches bordered on off-putting.

The scope of the book didn't really live up to the sub-title, either. A good bit of time is spent on the development of the "dry" movement in America and the post-WWI push for a prohibition amendment, and then a here-and-there approach to the 13 years of Prohibition itself: biographical sketches of a bootlegger and a corrupt attorney general, some surveys of telling statistics, a couple of mentions of President Harding and Al Capone. And then the book ends on December 5, 1933, so any ways in which America really was changed as a result of Prohibition are left to the reader's observation and/or imagination.

I find the 1920's to be an interesting period in US history, especially in light of Prohibition, but that interest going in was the only thing that kept me going through the book. It just didn't deliver exactly what I was looking for. There were some interesting tidbits, but not the nuts and bolts I was more curious about. I have some other Prohibition-focused books on my shelf, though, and maybe those will yield more.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is slightly misleading. Prohibition starts with an in depth look at the temperance movement in America and England it quickly evolves into the trials and tribulations of George Remus during Prohibition and after its repeal. Several bootleggers are mentioned in passing. Prohibition itself seems to take a background to the story.

[Arup Guha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a fast moving book through a public policy misadventure that usa undertook at the start of the last century. The old world tried to impose its values on the new. One more attempt at not accepting the world for what it is and trying to mould it to what it should be at immense human, financial, and moral cost. Hollywood possibly has been the only gainer; gifted with an endless supply of plots for gangster films.
The author is a veteran journalist. So the style is fast moving and factual not slow and thoughtful; alas something I prefer more.
Its a good read, more to make an idea of the world where prohibition was conceptualised, implemented and ultimately found untenable than for a deep socio economic analysis.
One slightly funny realisation. How chaotic, predatory and corrupt usa used to be and therefore how much it used to resemble the India of today is an uplifting thought.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I need to find this A&E episode but likely the book contains more information than a 1 hour show. As I research further into the Jazz Age for my own Mystery series set in 1923, I flagged a lot of useful information. I didn’t know that much about how involved event the president was prohibition or the complete ignoring of it. I gained even more insight into the time period and thought this book was well worth the time. It did focus heavily on the mob boss Remus. If you are unfamiliar with them there was a lot of new information I have yet to read elsewhere.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very close look at prohibition - before, during and after. Prohibition enabled the rise of the gangster mobs and their entrenchment in politics because enforcement was basically non-existent for those with the money to buy off the police, judges and politicians. In fact, the prohibition agents were political appointments so were ineffective from the very beginning. Mainly the people caught and jailed were the poor who could not afford to make the big pay-offs for protection.
Drunkenness and alcohol-related disease and deaths surged during prohibition - not including the deaths from wood alcohol which killed thousands.
After prohibition was repealed, drinking moderated and the death-rate slowed.
A very good quote from the final chapter: "But perhaps the least-learned lession of Prohibition is tat legislation alone is no answer to America's problems. The moralists and evangelcal pioneers without whom Prohibition would have remained a dead letter believed that enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment would be sufficient to change the habits of American society as a whole. They were quickly proved disastrously wrong."
This lesson has not been learned by the hypocrites and liberals, either. They are still trying to legislate behavior. And the same attitude toward liquor and enforcement is being used against drugs and no more effective now than then.

[Ken Dowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of the 13 years that Prohibition was in effect in the U.S., 1920-1933. To me it is one of the most interesting periods in U.S. history. How did the roaring 20’s happen at the same time that we were subjected to one of the most repressive moralistic laws ever passed?

Most Prohibition tales focus on the mobsters and the politicians. What makes Behr’s account interesting is all of the characters he introduces us to who aren’t in either category There’s a scary woman from Kansas named Carry Nation who goes around smashing up saloons. There’s Imogene Remus, a secretary who marries millionaire smuggler George Remus then steals all his money and runs off with a Justice Department Prohibition agent. (Spoiler alert: he shoots her.) And then there’s the guy who gave rise to the moniker “the real McCoy” who was a boating enthusiast, bought a glorious rig and parked it three miles offshore as a floating liquor store.

The cover of this book, which was published 1996, describes it as a companion to the A&E miniseries. I don’t really know what that was, but it could just as easily be described as a companion to the more recent Ken Burns documentary on Prohibition.

Behr eludes the historians curse: burying your narrative in an avalanche of details. Maybe that’s because he’s really a journalist, not a historian. In any case he has produced a very readable and colorful history.

[Bob Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty good, although brief version of the 13 years that Prohibition was the law. The author gives a good outline of efforts to ban alcohol in this country going back to the early 1800s. It’s also interesting to learn how prohibition came to be the law of the land in 1920. What is amazing is that it was a complete failure almost from the start. Not only did people continue to drink, but the birth of organized crime in this country can be traced back to prohibition. The author discusses the major players of the era on both sides of the law. The one thing I did not understand was why the author went into such detail regarding the murder trial of George Remus. The crime and trial did not seem to have much to do with prohibition itself. The conclusion the author draws is pretty clear: government can outlaw a popular activity such as drinking, but that doesn’t mean people will actually stop drinking. This lesson is valid today as well. My E edition of this book did contain numerous typos, but that didn’t distract me from reading it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tie-in for a BBC/PBS series in 1997, this is a good look at the years 1920 to 1933, when America outlawed the buying and selling of alcoholic drinks. What was supposed to be a new age of sobriety, resulted in a new age of drinking and crime. The book traces the developments of the campaigns against alcohol, until the Anti-Saloon League, through political manipulation, moral outrage and propaganda against Germans in WW1. Then they didn’t provide the authority or resources for law and the government to deal with the problem that they had created. This created a massive expansion in crime that resulted in an expansion of scale and bribery that is breathtaking to read about. This should fascinate anybody with an interest in history and crime and still provides a reminder of how it feels like history often repeats itself.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting focused history of the late 1800s and early 1900s on Prohibition; never knew how Prohibition started in the decades before the Volstead Act was passed. Also while there remain "dry" counties today, I didn't realize that there were dry counties/states prior to the passing of the 18th Amendment that help provided momentum to the national law. Probably the most interesting part of the book was the section on German-Americans around 1900, especially those living in the Greater Cincinnati area. It was very enlightening to learn about the culture they brought to the area as part of this mass migration from Germany and how they were most likely perceived upon the start of WWI, and how their life dramatically changed after Prohibition began.

[Lee Hauser · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawed but enjoyable

I greatly enjoyed this account of a critical period of American history which, I think, is seriously under-reported. This book is a little dry at times, but overall is very readable. I didn't see the TV series, so I have no idea how it relates, but I found the framing story of the Remus murder trial very effective.

I'm sorry to say that the Kindle version is riddled with typos. It looks like the text was scanned and not well proof-read. Not sure why, with print books starting out as digital files anyway, this should be the case. I don't believe the errors were enough to hurt the book, but they did make me sit up and take notice.

[David Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provided a decent look at what America was like during the prohibition era. A lot of focus was put on the politics involved with the formation and ending of the Volstead Act. Also of note was the time spent regarding the life and eventual downfall of bootlegger George Remus. There were certain details in this book that I'd never heard, which provided a nice bit of new information. Other times, specifics of the prohibition story were somewhat glossed over, even though the author could write an entire book on each of those subjects (as others have). Overall, this was a fine look at the topic.

[A.M. Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd been required to read this book in high school history class. It gives such a longer, broader look into the history of prohibition. It wasn't just a 20th century fight, and I never knew just how corrupt the Harding administration was back then. It's interesting that Harding's election campaign used the slogan "Think of America first." Why does that sound familiar?

Prohibition was doomed from the start, but hey, at least it made a lot of criminals rich, right?

[Tara Copeland · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the history of prohibition in America. It’s clearly written and the research is well done. I enjoyed the fact that this book acknowledges Al Capone but doesn’t not spend an inordinate amount of pages diving into his story, and instead focus on other rather interesting players in the story of prohibition America. I will say there is at times a very clear bias from the author, but I don’t think this takes away too much.

[Thomas Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have learned I enjoy reading history. My family record reveals some “investment” by various family members in the production of whiskey - before, during and after prohibition. Most of those family members considered their making corn whiskey was not a crime but a means to feed their families in a region where “cash jobs” were few and subsistence farming often fell short of producing enough to sustain a large family through the lean months. Seeing this volume in a dealers’ store awoke a desire within me to learn more about this era in American history that is largely shrouded in myth, distorted by the entertainment media and not a period covered in my educational past. I am glad I read this work, as it lifted some of the darkness around this time in history.
For a volume that is as thin as is this one, the book is surprisingly thorough in its detail. The first four chapters are background to the how and why of prohibition in America. There was an active movement to ban alcohol from the United States early on in our past. In 1735, Parliament enacted Prohibition (except for beer) in Georgia due to the amount of alcohol consumed and the effect it had on productivity and health in that region, that law lasted until 1743. In 1814, a report was published that, in Massachusetts, each person drank, on average, 4.7 gallons of distilled spirits in that year. Americans, it seems, have always liked to drink alcohol.
It was not until the religious community began to embrace the Temperance Movement that it the idea of Prohibition gained traction. In 1830 “churches began equating drunkenness with damnation, abstinence with salvation.” (p.22). This idea was “supported” by tales of alcohol causing “spontaneous combustion” in drinkers, in addition to a host of other physical and mental disorders. Because of this energy, alcohol quickly became a religious rather than a political or social problem. Had it not been for the focus upon the Civil War in the 1850’s, Prohibition would have occurred decades earlier. The final push for establishing the 18th Amendment was caused by women organizing and taking action (often very physical action) against “demon rum.”
The Volstead Act was doomed to failure very nearly from the start. Law enforcement was ill-prepared for the lengths to which individuals would go to continue drinking. The statutes connected to the Act were so vague that enforcement was close too impossible. The money that could be made in the production, distribution and selling of alcohol was too great for there not to have been a well-organized alliance to supply alcohol as it was in higher demand after Prohibition than it was before. This demand was sparked by the illicitness now attached to an action that had been routine for generations. “It became the thing to do, among students, flappers, and respectable middle-class Americans all over the country, to defy the law – as much a manifestation of personal liberty as a thirst for alcohol.” (p. 89)
The largest supplier of alcohol during the early days of Prohibition was George Remus, a lawyer, pharmacist and entrepreneur who made Cincinnati THE place for liquor distribution in North America; he did so by buying the whiskey from the U. S. Government! He choose Cincinnati for its location, it was within 300 miles of most of the available whiskey in the U.S., had a good transportation system and Ohio was laxer in enforcing the statues attached to the Volstead Act. At one point, his wealth was immense and he was making hundreds of thousands of dollars a week. Eventually, he would lose that fortune and others would follow him to soak up the money flowing waist deep in the river of alcohol desired by America. Many of those would perish, others would likewise lose that wealth, but some carried the affluence gained during prohibition to respectability in the years after its repeal.
There were many changes that occurred in America during the thirteen-years of Prohibition that are still affecting life 93 years after it ended. Distrust of the police and elected officials was “learned” during those years when the promise of wealth lead many of those in authority to become corrupt. Many areas in America remain “dry,” having elected not to legalize alcohol after the Act was repealed; until the recent drug crisis of our nation, illegal alcohol production and sales was still a major source of illegal income for many in those “dry” areas. Organized crime has now the myth of invincibility;

“good now seldom prevails over evil, and this is unsurprising, for Americans have been conditioned to believe that criminal vested interests are so powerful that the fight against them is inevitably rigged. In other words, they have lost the capacity to react.” (p.239)

This seems fact appears to be validated in the present season of elections.
The drug problem we are facing on a global scale is very similar to the alcohol issues that lead to the experiment of Prohibition. Our response must be different. The key “learnings” from the failing of Prohibition is that change is far more likely as a result of education than it is an action of legislation and the validity of Edmund Burke’s statement, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned some things and other things were reinforced concerning prohibition and the way the government works today. It was a little dry but informative and worth the time I took to read and think about what I learned. I encourage you to check it out.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good and very readable coverage of this interesting aspect of American history.

[Gavin Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kathy Brown]

This book is an accessible introduction to an influential era of American history. The book focuses on some of the more obvious causes for the rise of the dry movement---rural vs city, 'nativist' (ironic misnomer ) vs immigrants, religious vs secular, etc. As in most things, " follow the money" leads to the ultimate explanation---power plays among industrialists . I would have liked more information about how prohibition affected people's daily life. the book mostly concerned political, legal, business activities on the top level. An exception would be the rise and fall of George Remus, a successful bootlegger (until murdered his wife). He was the human interest angle, but he was far from a typical prohibition player. The writing is for a general audience, rather than an academic one.l

[Sarah Zama · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy to read introduction to the Prohibition Era.
I too have spotted some inaccuracies (and I see from other reviews there are more than I expected), and it's true the book sometimes floats away from the subject matter (the chapter about Chicago was basically NOT about Prohibition). But if you are a newcomer to the Prohibition Era - like I was when I read this book - and you're just trying to get a feeling for this time period and then move on to more in-depth works on the subject, it does the job.

The first part is maybe the more interesting. It deals with the social, political and in part the economical atmosphere at the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century that permitted the idea of Prohibition to become a reality. Having now read also the more accurate and in-depth treatment offered by Okrent in his book "Last Call", I know this is a partial analysis, still it give an idea of why Prohibition found such a strong support on its way to becoming a law in the USA.
It also offers an introduction (if in many instances very short and essential) of the main actors in the struggle on both sides.

The central part deals with Prohibition proper, or rather to the time of the actual Prohibition. But I was a little disappointed. There is an attempt at a social analysis here, but on the whole the author seems to rely heavily on anecdotes. Granted, there's nothing wrong with it on a general level, but that's certainly not enough to give a feel of how Prohibition really impacted on the lives of so many people, or the role it plaid in the changing of costumes - especially among young people - or the rise of jazz, or the escalation of crime, or a few other matters.
We still find introductions to many important players (again short and essential like in the first part), with the only exception of the life of George Remus, which, for some reason, is explore in depth. Yes, it was interesting, but not so much - in my opinion - to take up a few chapters.
On the whole, it gave me the impression to be a bit superficial, although you do get an idea of how it was in those days.

The last part was disappointing. The reasons why Prohibition was repealed are very superficially and quickly explored. I felt as if much of what was behind it was just left out (and Okrent's book confirmed this when I read it). The repeal of Prohibition is related in very few pages, very fast, and you don't really get a good idea of why it happened.

On the whole, not the best book on Prohibition I read, but still an easy introduction to it.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

On January 16, 1920, the greatest social experiment in American history went into affect as the age of Prohibition began with the passing of the 18th amendment. Across the next nearly 13 years, the US found out just how difficult it would be to enforce this new law & saw things about it change that still resonate to this day. In "Prohibition: Thirteen Years That Changed America", Edward Behr describes Prohibition's roots in American history dating back to the founding of the US through the end of the era in December 1933 with the ratification of the 21st amendment. With relative ease, Behr examines the key players in the Prohibition movement & just how far the "drys" would go in order to make this law become a reality. Once enacted, Prohibition had the unintended consequence of being almost unenforceable & with the advent of the Depression it's demise seemed a foregone conclusion. The book itself is easy to read although at times spends far too much time on the history of the events leading up to the start of the era rather than focusing on a lot of the things that Prohibition would become known for especially the crime. Granted there is a lone chapter devoted solely to the Chicago gang era of Al Capone & others, but that piece of the puzzle which still lingers today is glossed over as an afterthought. Overall though, this book is a decent summary of Prohibition & as an Ohioan offered me a unique insight into parts of this state's history (particularly in Cincinnati) that I was unaware of. There may be better books out there that deal with this topic, but this one provides a nice overview of a social experiment in US history due to a law that probably never should've been passed in the first place.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors purpose of writing this book was to inform readers of the history of prohibition throughout the world, like in Great Britain and mainly in the United States during the 1920s.
I think the theme of the book was to inform the reader about the consequences of trying to enforce something that is practically unenforceable.
I think that the book was a descriptive book. It describes what it was like leading up to prohibition and during the prohibition era by informing the readers of what kinds of things prohibition brought up and what people could do to break the law.
I personally enjoyed reading the book, I'll be honest I'm not to big into reading so when I enjoy reading a book you can "take that to the bank." There wasn't much to report about what I didn't like except that I would have put things more in order rather than somewhat jumping around.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not to bad. The book is mostly about some of the main players in the Prohibition years. I think I was hoping for more info about the national responses or how events played out and the general public responded. This book covers mostly the political and corruptive ends. It is informative and explains the main reasons prohibition failed. Basically, it was set up to fail from the start. Never had a chance. But considering this book was a companion to an A&E program,(which I never saw) it was pretty good on its own.

[Peter Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about a semi forgotten period.I enjoyed the background to the Prohibition decision which I knew nothing about but got a bit tired of tales of individual corruption and crime which I knew a bit more about.It made me think about modern drug laws which don't seem to be working but drink in moderation is possible while drug taking seems to be impossible in moderation unless one has a very disciplined life.Well written and useful.Possibly more useful to an American readership.

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Behr has written a very comprehensive account of the turbulent years around Prohibition. Since I write historical romance in that time period, I found the material extremely useful. The mind set of the populous, on both sides was clearly examined. As Mr. Behr writes--the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history books, especially when they cover speakeasies and the prohibition. Might be a little packed with facts, but I loved how much I learned about what went on behind the prohibition and what caused it.

[Hunter McCleary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the sketches of various characters from Prohibition. just can't imagine from today's perspective that something like that could pass Congress. They are so dysfunctional today they can't agree what day of the week it is. Wish there was a chapter on how it affected the everyday family.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 3 out of 5]

America's 13 year hangover. Good historical photos. Can legislation alone solve America's problems?

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty interesting recap of the story behind Prohibition. Amazing how similar it is to some of the goverment programs currently proposed!

[Tara Godfrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on prohibition. Makes me want to learn more about the subject and the time period and the cast of characters in the book.