Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City

by Michael A. Lerner

In 1919, the United States embarked on the country’s boldest attempt at moral and social reform: Prohibition. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol around the country. This “noble experiment,” as President Hoover called it, was intended to usher in a healthier, more moral, and more efficient society. Nowhere was such reform needed more, proponents argued, than in New York City―and nowhere did Prohibition fail more spectacularly. Dry Manhattan is the first major work on Prohibition in nearly a quarter century, and the only full history of Prohibition in the era’s most vibrant city.

Though New Yorkers were cautiously optimistic at first, Prohibition quickly degenerated into a deeply felt clash of cultures that utterly transformed life in the city. Impossible to enforce, the ban created vibrant new markets for illegal alcohol, spawned corruption and crime, fostered an exhilarating culture of speakeasies and nightclubs, and exposed the nation’s deep prejudices. Writ large, the conflict over Prohibition, Michael Lerner demonstrates, was about much more than the freedom to drink. It was a battle between competing visions of the United States, pitting wets against drys, immigrants against old stock Americans, Catholics and Jews against Protestants, and proponents of personal liberty against advocates of societal reform.

In his evocative history, Lerner reveals Prohibition to be the defining issue of the era, the first major “culture war” of the twentieth century, and a harbinger of the social and moral debates that divide America even today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History, New York, Food, Research

360 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2007

Reviews

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I continued my exploration of the fascinating Prohibition era with this book, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations for it. It's a perfectly competent history as presented, but I was expecting something a little more focused. I wanted to know how the denizens of New York City lived through and dealt with Prohibition. As it turns out, according to Lerner, the answer by and large is "they ignored it". But that would make for a pretty short book, so he pads it out with some historical context as far as how the 18th amendment was passed and what pre-Prohibition saloons in NYC were like, and then pads out the ending by examining the nomination and election of FDR and the ultimate repeal of Prohibition in the 21st amendment. I found the end-padding far more irksome than the beginning: any history book can justifying "backing up a bit" and providing context and frameworks. But if the premise is "life in NYC as affected by Prohibition", the connection to a presidential campaign seems tenuous at best. FDR was a New York governor, and Lerner argues that Manhattanites gradually became more politically involved in the Prohibition struggle in its last few years, continuing to resist in civilly disobedient ways but also "voting as they drank" but still ... national elections are not synonymous with NYC elections. I was hoping for more anecdotes about how speakeasies operated, how bootleg liquor ended up in the homes of New Yorkers, how organized crime grew in the city (esp. since Chicago usually gets all the attention in those chapters in broader Prohibition books) - I got some, but what can I say, I'm greedy and I wanted more.

[Jocelyn Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just what I was looking for. A thorough look at Prohibition specifically in New York City. It started a little slow for me, but that may be because it was laying a foundation that I had already learned through American History Tellers podcasts and the Ken Burns documentary. Very helpful book.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall a great book. Taught me many questions that I didn’t even know I had about American history:

How was prohibition even enacted?
It should be noted that - as the author emphasized - prohibition was not a popular choice by the American people. In fact, many of the supporters themselves thought prohibition was more symbolic than real (and that when really enacted, only hard liquor like Gin - as opposed to beers and wine - would be prohibited, they were obviously wrong). Supporters - even the people of the Anti-Saloon League, which was the major lobby group behind the prohibition - thought that prohibition was a noble cause, and would eventually be enacted, but not anytime soon (the irony is that later, people thought the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment was going to happen but not anytime soon).

So how did it come about? Frankly - smart governmental maneuver. The Anti-Saloon League was immensely brilliant in their PR campaign to the public, portraying itself as the crusade against whatever more progressive people at the time were against. It aligned many unlikely supporters together, portraying alcohol as the root cause of many progressive’s unhappiness. They were also intelligent enough to understand the technicalities of how a law is enacted, and target specific politicians who have a pro Anti-Saloon League base but might otherwise not vote for prohibition., And it worked: politicians who did not vote for prohibition in local elections typically lose their subsequent election, and the remaining politicians - even if they themselves enjoy alcohol - learn to vote for prohibition.

How did America - or NYC specifically - live under prohibition?
In a strange way - business as usual. The law had many loopholes. For one: the law, while forbidden the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages, did not forbid the consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages. Thus, as long as a person had liquor, the law didn’t apply to him (as proving the person being the manufacturer of alcohol could be rather difficult, not to mention the person in fact bought them from the black market). This differs greatly from today’s drug law, in which the possession of drugs is heavily penalized.

So - speakeasy was rapidly expanded within NYC, so much that it became a part of the culture of the city. Strangely enough, to some people, prohibition actually made them drink. This is a rather interesting human phenomenon that is as visible today as yesterday: the moment you ban something or simply make it a tabo, that very thing becomes something people want to chase after. People during the prohibition era drank for the sake of breaking the law: they rationalize it as “independent thinking”, “modern”, and “fashionable”. This is how fashion works today: whatever the thing becomes the de facto mainstream, the “cool cats” would want to do something different - sometimes as simple as the opposite - even if the thing itself is detrimental to cool cats’ own personal interest.

[Aaron Jerviss · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly readable and relatively fascinating introduction to Prohibition including the important aspects of politics, culture, gender, and race. It is, however, fundamentally flawed. On one hand, the size, racial/ethnic diversity, and cosmopolitan culture of New York City make it a perfect locale for a Prohibition study. On the other hand, I found myself continually asking: How representative of the larger American Prohibition experience is NYC? Lerner appears to argue for New York exceptionalism; he assumes a "trickle-down" effect where the anti-Prohibition attitude of New Yorkers makes its way to the rest of the nation. First, this is almost impossible to quantify. How do you prove that support for 18th Amendment repeal in, say, Indiana came from the efforts of wet New Yorkers? Second, I found a tone of "East coast bias" present throughout the book, the idea that unenlightened residents of "fly-over country" needed the example of New Yorkers to wake up to the dangers of the 18th Amendment. Maybe the other 47 states simply liked to drink as much as New York. A good study when sticking to New York City, but unconvincing when attempting to make larger claims about American society.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prohibition has been called the "noble experiment"--it should be called the stupid decade. This is an evocative study in how a movement can create a groundswell and change history, even if the movement is wrong-minded. Indeed, there is a simple lack of knowledge of human nature that impels people to outlaw activities.

The author covers the ideas that led to prohibition and the simple reason it didn't work--people want to drink. Of course, it was much worse than that. Prohibition led to more people drinking (including women in bars!), increase in crime, lack of respect for the law, lots of corruption, and loss of government income (as well as the increase in cost of enforcement).

People who are against the legalization of marijuana should take a look at this book--sometimes the evil isn't as evil as the prohibition.

New York history people...history in general...you'll like this.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about Prohibition, with special focus on how Prohibition impacted the culture of New York City, as well as New York City's impact on the eventual appeal of Prohibition. I had never considered the bigoted forces behind the dry movement, as not only did the law impact ethnic minorities the most, but was also harshly enforced on minorities and the working poor, while many of the elite continued to drink with impunity. The only significant negative to the book was the short chapter on Prohibition in Harlem. Compared to the other chapters in the book it seemed poorly researched and limited in scope when describing how African-Americans and the Harlem Renaissance were impacted by and/or responded to Prohibition. I feel reasonably confident that there were more primary sources than the same Harlem newspaper quoted over and over.

[Jo Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this very concise history of prohibition in New York City. I originally got the book because my grandfather was a bootlegger in NYC and I was hoping to find out more about how the bootleggers operated. Unfortunately the book doesn't get down to that level of detail, but it was still fascinating, and I learned enough to guess that my grandfather was probably part of the Rothstein gang of bootleggers. I especially enjoyed reading about how a woman created the most effective movement for repealing the amendment and I plan on looking up the autobiography of "Izzie" Epstein-the extraordinary prohibition agent.

[Wayne Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully detailed. A look at Prohibition particularly through the eyes of New Yorkers, it left me thinking that this period in history was where America became the two Americas we see today, two incompatible nations.

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow going sometimes, but I'm glad I stuck with it and read the whole thing. I learned a lot about Al Smith's campaign and about how much anti-immigrant hatred was part of what was behind prohibition. Timely too.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-written and refreshingly colorful and readable for an academic work!

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dry Manhattan" tells you a lot about New York, a little less about Prohibition, and somehow gets the mix right.

The Eighteenth Amendment, if author Michael Lerner's research and interpretations are correct, was birthed by the boozy saloons of New York City's immigrant quarters and foundered upon the same immovable rock of intemperance.

Protestant folks in middle America couldn't abide by the sin-soaked goings-on in the Big Apple and other urban centers. In the end, making something almost everybody approved of a matter of general disapproval did not present the property recipe (if ever one existed).

Lerner dissects William H. Anderson's stealth effort to make alcohol illegal in New York and the lackadaisical response of local politicians and citizens to his ultimately successful campaign.

It is a fatalistic march marked with the same strange inertia that led to other historical debacle like Hitler’s rise to power, the South’s secession from the union, or George W. Bush.

"Dry Manhattan," is a story about how Manhattan was never dry at all, even when defying the law landed a goodly number of people in jail or ruined lives.

In the end, there was something stuffy, Anglo, and very 19th Century about the Eighteenth Amendment that quickly wore out the efficacy of its most persuasive arguments.

Prohibition didn't make America better. It made it much worse. Especially through illegal mafias that sought to accumulate windfall profits associated with the risk of moving such contraband around.

Crazy innovating entrepreneurs! They're as American as the Martini.

More than anything else, Lerner's book details how the cool crowd (yes, even then) was able to infuse illegal drinking with a cachet all those Mabels and Myrtles from the Women’s Christian Temperance Union could never combat.

And most importantly, there was New York and its drinking habit, alone atop the country's media circus. It was not the only place America looked to for pointers on style and novelty, but the dry folks could hardly expect help from the wacky western pole that harbored Hollywod.

"Cosmopolitanism" is what Lerner sees as a key to the Wet counter-reformation on alcohol. And what place was more so than Manhattan?

The book resuscitates the name of New York Governor Al Smith and discusses how his losing campaign for president actually laid the groundwork for a national Democratic coalition that would reign supreme over five decades; on-and-off, and more-or-less.

Non-fiction, foot-noted, and scrupulously researched, “Dry Manhattan” manages to go down pretty easy.

[Bruce Jenvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastically frightening book and a MUST READ for everyone! Yes, it is an historical documentation of the Prohibition Era from start to finish, but from start, I mean it starts YEARS before the 18th Amendment’s passage and describes the times, the situations, the political climate that led to the 'Noble Experiment.'
While it is a well-written historical reference (I selected it as reference material for my next novel), its TRUE value in its relevance today! Without specifically drawing parallels, the author lays bare the motivations, tactics, procedures, even dirty tricks and blackmail used by the “Drys” to impose a private, moral agenda on the entire population. That’s where it’s frightening! No matter what side of what social issue you are on today; abortion rights, gun control, immigration, drug trafficking, and so many more, this book is as relevant today as the Prohibition movement was a century ago. This is anyone’s plan of action, as well as a road map back again for their opposition. How could it happen? And more important, could it happen again with any other social issue? Like I said, this one is a MUST READ!

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was also a book for US History thesis paper. This book talks about life in the 1920s, but especially prohibition. When the Nineteenth Amendment prohibited the making, selling and drinking of alcohol, many problems occurred. In New York City, speakeasies (underground bars) started opening. The people in charge of these were part of mafias and gangs. The Twenties was an unsafe time to live in because there was a lot of gang violence. No one cared if you got murdered! The police forces could be easily bribed. That is the reason why speakeasies could prosper even though they were illegal. I think living in the Twenties seems so exciting. When I think about it in my head, I imagine a place with all these bright lights. I think about the creation of Jazz and flappers. Everyone just seemed to enjoy themselves and just had fun! I think this was a decade to live in because everything was so cool. The other decade I want to live in is the 70s. These seem like the best times in America.

[victoria.p · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, though it wasn't quite what I was expecting (gangsters and g-men, flappers and booze) when I picked it up. It's a political history of Prohibition - how the dry lobby came to power, got large parts of the country on board with outlawing alcohol (enough to make it a Constitutional amendment), and then how cities ignored and circumvented it over the years the amendment was in place, creating a political movement culminating in its repeal. The most interesting part to me was how it so clearly foreshadows the failure of today's war on drugs, and the fundamentalist/religious right attempts to police morality through legislation, and the use of religious and ethnic hatred (and anti-New York City sentiment) in order to do so. We have not, alas, learned from the failure of Prohibition in this country.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a really long time to read this. The subject matter was very interesting to me, since i have read several books that take place during the Prohibition era, but the writing style drags a little. I think I fell asleep every time I stated to read it.

There is a lot of detail of laws & names of key players that was a little hard to keep up with. Some terms seemed to be introduced without explanation (like the committee of Fourteen) & I kept thinking I must have skimmed over the first mention, but according to the index, I didn't.

Parts of the book were confusing, it could have been organized better, but I did learn a lot about how the amendment came about & how culture both caused it & was affected by it. This book also made me want to read more about Fiorello Laguardia.

[W.R. German · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who want to understand the American right-wing thuggary of today would do well to read this book, which details just how America fell into the hands of the Prohibitionists in the early 20th century.

The same bullying, political blackmail and harassment tactics are well detailed in this highly readable post-mortem of the "Dry" movement--reinforcing the saying that "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Read how turning New York City dry was supposed to be the crowning achievement of the Drys, and how it turned out to be their Waterloo.

[David McCormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of those books that are difficult to rate. On the one hand the book is brisk and pleasurable to read. On the other hand there isn't much here that I haven't read before. In fact, anyone who has seen the Ken Burns documentary will have heard over half of what this book has to say, yet this isn't really a criticism. A very well researched and written smallish book on Prohibition in New York City. Five stars for one's first book on the subject, trailing down sharply as one's familiarity with the subject increases.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was unintentionally(?) funny: the personalities written large, the rhetoric of the campaigns, etc. An interesting social and political view of prohibition with perhaps a bit of NYC centrism. Good explication of the anti-immigrant sentiment and other prejudices underlying the dry movement and the desire for social reform. Good information on the concerted campaign to pass prohibition and the long-time-in-coming political response to repeal.

[Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can only imagine that New York in the roaring Twenties and Prohibition Era was filled with a lot of amazing stories. This book studiously avoids those stories that would transform it into a popular history, and yet it isn't well-written enough to be an excellent history. I got a feel for the politics and the passions of the time, but only a single thread at a time which left me doubting the author's grasp of events.

[jankreidler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed this non fiction book for the Journal of American Culture recently....excellent read for anyone interested in American culture or politics....shows how the squeaky wheel gets things done in this country and how fundamentalism backfires when the will of a few is imposed on the many. Theme seems contemporary. We didn't learn much from history, unfortunately! Gotta love the Jazz age!

[David McCormick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good introductory look at Prohibition in New York. Anyone who has seen the Ken Burns documentary on this subject will see little new material in this book. It's a perfectly competent and enjoyable book on Prohibition, but surprisingly light (in my opinion) for a scholarly book published by Harvard UP.

[Adam Klinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always suspected it was easy to get around Prohibition in NYC, this book shows how. Also a fascinating cultural statement on how ridiculous Prohibition was in a place bringing together so many cultures and ethnicities. It's definitely from the country to the city, with xenophobia leading the way for the Drys.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone looking to dive in to the history of NYC in the 1920s through the lens of Prohibition. Really good look at events in the city from a cultural and political standpoint to understand what life was like in NYC from the ratification of the 18th Amendment to its repeal. Very good resource of historical authors.

[Anja · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in prohibition and NYC then I recommend reading this book. It can be confusing at time as the author delves into the many players in prohibition in NYC. It is amazing how many things the failed experiment brought to NYC.

[Nghia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book that much because i think it has a lot of information about the prohibition which make it a little boring after a while. If you want to learn about prohibition, this book would teach you a thing or more.

[Anna Tatelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on Prohibition. Contains lots of topics, causes, and effects of prohibition not normally discussed, such as "non-native" Americans being punished for booze possession far more than the white elites.

[scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned that I am right

[Amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

My cousin wrote this!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

You think you know about the Prohibition Era? Bet you this book could teach you a thing or two.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possible lessons for the War on Drugs? Dunno, but the tales of Gotham during the days of the drys will wrap you up. Particularly if read with a nicely poured Manhattan.