Crusaders, Gangsters, and Whiskey: Prohibition in Memphis

by Patrick O'Daniel

Prohibition, with all its crime, corruption, and cultural upheaval, ran its course after thirteen years in most of the rest of the country—but not in Memphis, where it lasted thirty years. Pat-rick O’Daniel takes a fresh look at those responsible for the rise and fall of Prohibition, its effect on Memphis, and the impact events in the city made on the rest of the state and country. Prohibition remains perhaps the most important issue to affect Memphis after the Civil War. It affected politics, religion, crime, the economy, and health, along with race and class. In Memphis, bootlegging bore a particular character shaped by its urban environment and the ru-ral background of the city’s inhabitants. Religious fundamentalists and the Ku Klux Klan sup-ported Prohibition, while the rebellious youth of the Jazz Age fought against it. Poor and work-ing-class people took the brunt of Prohibition, while the wealthy skirted the law. Like the War on Drugs today, African Americans, immigrants, and poor whites made easy targets for law en-forcement due to their lack of resources and effective legal counsel. Based on news reports and documents, O’Daniel’s lively account distills long-forgotten gangsters, criminal or-ganizations, and crusaders whose actions shaped the character of Memphis well into the twen-tieth century.

Genres: History

312 pages, Paperback

Published April 22, 2021

Reviews

[William Schrecengost]

Interesting material. Written poorly. Could’ve been portrayed as a list of bullet points.

[Debra]

Like reading the book of Numbers, only gangsters and criminals.

[Jeffrey Philips]

Excellent book on Memphis and alcohol. One sentence from the book says it all, "you can't legislate morality."