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READING
Read the text below and find out

1. how prohibition started and how it ended.
2. whether it was a successful measure.
3. who controlled the sale of illegal drink.
4. who ‘Scarface’ was.
5. whether there have been other measures concerning alcohol consumption since then.

Prohibition and gangsters in Chicago

In 1920 the 18th Amendment to the Constitution banned the production and sale of alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine or whisky. But people did not give up drinking all of a sudden and there were people who seized the opportunity to sell alcoholic drink in spite of the law and make huge profits.
Alcohol was smuggled into the US across the borders and hundreds of thousands of illegal bars opened up all over the country. By 1925, in New York City alone, there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 ‘speakeasy’ clubs (people would speak in a low voice when ordering alcohol to avoid raising suspicion) that illegally sold alcoholic beverages.
Though it was intended to improve moral behavior and reduce crime, prohibition actually produced a huge crime wave, especially in the big cities. Criminal organisations such as the Mafia controlled the production and distribution of illegal drink together with the profitable businesses of gambling and prostitution. Gangs of criminals formed in the big cities.
Al Capone, nicknamed ‘Scarface’ for his facial scars, is America's best known gangster. He had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city, first of all the bootlegging (from concealing flasks of alcohol in the legs of boots) business. Gangsters like Al Capone in Chicago were incredibly violent. He had a private ‘army’ of 700 men. Through bribery and threats, he controlled many of Chicago’s judges and politicians, as well as the local police.
National prohibition lasted until 1933 when the 18th Amendment was repealed by Congress. Since then it has been up to the states to decide whether they want to be ‘wet’ or ‘dry’, i.e. to allow or to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks.

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