The Law for the Poor and a Joke for the Rich: Unpacking the Chaos of Prohibition
Most of us imagine the 1920s through a soft-focus lens of flapper dresses and jazz, but the reality of Prohibition’s first week was closer to a state-sponsored fever dream. In the second installment of their look at the dawn of the 18th Amendment, the team at This Day (formerly This Day in Esoteric Political History) peels back the curtain on the Volstead Act. What they find isn’t just a story about booze; it is a blueprint for how class, corruption, and a lack of societal buy-in can break a legal system before the ink even dries.
The Rise of the Celebrity "Prohes"
When Congress rushed through the Volstead Act, they handed enforcement to the IRS, an agency designed to tax alcohol, not to wage a moral war against it. The result was a scramble for manpower that saw the creation of the "Prohibition Unit." These agents, or "prohes," were often poorly trained and politically appointed, leading to a vacuum quickly filled by either incompetence or creative showmanship.
Nicole Hemmer and Kelly Carter Jackson highlight the bizarre career of Izzy Einstein and Mo Smith, two New York City agents who became legitimate media stars. Izzy, a portly former postal worker who spoke multiple languages, utilized master-level disguises to infiltrate saloons. While they boasted a 95% conviction rate through roughly 4,000 arrests, their celebrity eventually became their undoing. The government, embarrassed by the tabloid headlines and the agents' use of controversial tactics like entrapment and blackface, eventually dissolved the partnership. It was a sign that the government was more interested in the appearance of order than the reality of it.
Prescriptions, Poison, and the Class Divide
The enforcement of Prohibition immediately exposed a massive fault line in American society. While the working class saw their local saloons smashed by decommissioned World War I tanks, the elite were playing by a different set of rules.
- The Stockpile Loophole: The law allowed for the consumption of alcohol purchased before the ban took effect. This meant the wealthy, including the Yale Club and Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Warren G. Harding, could stockpile enough liquor to last for years.
- The Medicinal Boom: Over 15,000 doctors and 57,000 pharmacists began prescribing "medicinal" whiskey. Iconic brands like Old Granddad and Johnny Walker actually got their start in this era as legal medicinal products.
- State-Sponsored Poison: Perhaps the most chilling detail discussed is the government's decision to poison industrial alcohol to prevent bootleggers from repurposing it. This "mania" resulted in the deaths of an estimated 10,000 people.
The Golden Nugget
"Prohibition had been a law for the poor and a joke for the rich. Let it be the law for all and then we can all laugh."
A Legacy of Law and Lawlessness
Jody Avergan and his guests argue that the true impact of Prohibition wasn’t just the temporary absence of beer. It fundamentally reshaped the American landscape. It gave us the first nationwide criminal syndicates, birthed the speedboats that would later influence the cocaine trade, and even led to the rise of NASCAR as moonshine runners modified cars to outrun the law.
Ultimately, the failure of the 18th Amendment teaches a vital lesson about the space between law and practice. Without societal buy-in, a law becomes a tool for selective enforcement. We see this legacy in the modern militarization of police and the disproportionate targeting of immigrant and Black communities that began in the 1920s. Prohibition didn't just stop people from drinking; it taught Americans how to navigate a world where the law and the reality on the ground were two entirely different things.