What do secret door bars and cocktails have to do with the FBI?

What does it matter? The story begins with the prohibition of alcohol in America ... "

Prohibition is arguably the stupidest law in American history. /kloc-For 0/4 years, anything related to alcohol was illegal. However, at the risk of going to jail, the American people have been trying to drink.

Prohibition is the 18 amendment to the US Constitution, which was implemented in the1920s. According to the law, it is illegal to manufacture, sell and transport beverages with alcohol content above 0.5%. Although it is not illegal to drink at home, it is illegal to drink with friends or hold a banquet. If you violate the law, you can be fined up to $65,438+0,000 yuan and imprisoned for half a year. At that time, your weekly salary was about 10, and 1000 could buy three Ford cars.

Wonderful mode of production and transportation

? 1920 65438+1October 17 at 0: 00 in the morning, the prohibition came into effect, and everything related to alcohol was forced to go underground. Illegal brewing, illegal smuggling, and then illegal sales. Don't be blatant in production. The winery moves to a hidden place in the country, and even the bathtub at home is used to distill "bathtub gin". Smuggling business is becoming increasingly rampant. At that time, steamboats could travel around the world. Whisky from Europe can be shipped to America in a few days. Florida in the United States extends as an antenna to the Bahamas. This is the most convenient place to smuggle Cuban rum from here. Of course, the coast guard is not a vegetarian, and it is necessary to enforce the law impartially against smugglers who fail to enforce the law. Prohibition inspired people's infinite wisdom. For example, bootleggers will put a piece of wood on the soles of their shoes to avoid being chased, which will make agents mistake it for a dog's paw print.

? There is an impressive bridge in the movie Once upon a time in America: several bags of salt are tied to the bottom of the wine box, and the buoyancy ball is tied to the top of the box. When you meet the coast guard, throw the goods into the sea immediately, and then the cops withdraw and come back for it. When the salt melts, the goods will float to the surface with the buoyancy ball, which is very clever.

? After World War I, the United States entered the roaring 1920s, with the rapid development of science and technology, new products and technologies emerged one after another, singing and dancing, artistic diversity and entertainment first. How can alcohol be missing in such an era? In the prohibition era, alcohol was everywhere. In many places, alcohol is sold in secret. In brothels, alcohol is the catalyst between prostitutes and clients. In casinos, gamblers drink whether they are happy or not. In short, the more sober guests are, the more money casinos and brothels make.

Underground bars (speakeasy) seem to appear like mushrooms after rain, with about 65,438+million in the United States. There are secret doors, secret passages, fake windows and other disguises in the bar. There are all kinds of people who drink, including politicians, policemen, prostitutes, gamblers, businessmen, civil servants, white-collar workers, and even students and law enforcers, because everyone has the same demand-drinking.

A loophole in the ban

I have to say, prohibition has huge loopholes. It's ridiculous that you can neither make nor sell wine. What's even more ridiculous is that you can drink it at home by yourself! The question is where should the wine come from? Prohibition also stipulates that you can drink alone, but you can't find a drinking buddy or organize a reception. Drinking together is illegal! On the other hand, as long as the drinker is quiet, how can the police know who has drunk? The American people believe that freedom is supreme. Did the police rush to the homes of ordinary people to investigate?

? Prohibition allows the production and sale of sacrificial wine, and allows the purchase of medicinal liquor in pharmacies with a doctor's prescription. As a result, pharmacies have become places to buy and sell bootleg wine. Doctors sell moonshine while saving the world. Rich doctors are often envied, but this still can't stop the trend that Americans love to get sick. Everyone wants to buy some wine from the drugstore. Today, doctors still have a high status in the United States. I wonder if it is the root of that era.

? Prohibition allows individuals to produce no more than 200 gallons of juice or cider a year, which is also a loophole. Concentrated juice is an ideal raw material for wine making. Apples make a lot of compressed juice and sell it for wine making. This business is super easy to do. People who can't afford wine have to brew it themselves, and concentrated grape juice is also very popular. Later, grape brick was invented, which was a mixture of dehydrated grapes and yeast. There is a very intimate reminder on the product packaging: "Note: Please don't add sugar and yeast, otherwise it will ferment into wine!" This is to teach people to understand illegal brewing.

? The law is not omnipotent, and prohibition was a failure from the beginning. Many law enforcers are also skeptical, because the police themselves have been secretly drinking. During the prohibition period, the market was flooded with all kinds of fake and smuggled alcohol, the consumption of alcohol and the crime rate rose sharply, the underworld transformed into smugglers, the police became underworld, the whole society was restless, the social trust system disappeared, and the law became a joke.

Prohibition ruined the winemaker.

As soon as the prohibition was promulgated, the entire American brewing industry was paralyzed in an instant, and wine, beer and whiskey were all hit hard. The legal channels have been cut off, and the opportunity for criminals has come. Distill wine in the bathtub, mix methanol and industrial alcohol by hook or by crook. Without the guarantee of quality, consumers can't know the origin and quality, and even can't guarantee whether it is wine. Drinking is not only expensive, but also fatal. If you are not careful, you will be caught. You are lucky to have a headache and brain fever. Many people went blind and died. In the first eight years of prohibition, more than 50,000 people died of alcoholism, and as many as 12000 people died of alcoholism in 1927 alone.

? After prohibition, the national wine production dropped from 55 million gallons to 3.5 million gallons, leaving only 130 wineries in California. Accurately speaking, the real winery has long since closed down, and the rest is actually selling grape juice or wine in the name of religion for a living.

? California's high-quality grapes disappeared completely and turned to low-priced varieties with mass production and deep color. The planting area of table grapes has actually doubled. The government immediately cracked down on illegal brewing and banned the sale of grape juice, so farmers had to give up planting grapes, thousands of acres of vineyards gradually abandoned, and the brewing industry almost stopped production. Although some manufacturers survived by religious wine during prohibition, the profession of winemaker has disappeared.

? You can't make wine without good ingredients, but even if you make good wine, no one will appreciate it, because everything is illegal.

Prohibition makes cocktails.

? When the winemaker disappeared, it was the bartender's turn to play the leading role. Because underground bars are everywhere, it is necessary to meet people's drinking needs and avoid prohibition agents. The bartenders used their wisdom. They mixed fruit juice, tea, spices, soft drinks and alcohol to create a variety of drinks, which greatly met people's drinking needs. Many classic cocktails were invented in the prohibition era, the most famous of which was "bloody Mary".

? Cocktails with double packaging of appearance and taste were very popular in the era of prohibition of alcohol. Not only do they look cool, but their names are also cool. In order to guard against prohibition agents, cocktail glasses have also evolved, because large glasses will prolong the drinking time and be easily caught by the police, so various small glasses have been derived. Punch Cup withdrew from the historical stage at the right time, and the cone-shaped shallow-mouthed cup, which is common nowadays, was popular, and the police could drink it as soon as they arrived. Fortunately, the prohibition officer didn't have an alcohol tester at that time, otherwise he would have checked it.

? In the prohibition era, the most profitable business was wine. There are a lot of drinkers in the police or politicians. For legal reasons, they can only buy alcohol secretly through the underworld. Black and white are inextricably linked through drinking. Where can the police eat black money if they want to sweep the black? Where can officials and politicians find drinks? Where can officials and politicians pick up girls and find mistresses? From Irish gangs to Jewish gangs to the terrible Italian mafia, many gangs have become extremely rich by selling alcohol.

? Before prohibition, the police managed the underworld, but later, the police took orders from the underworld. Al capone, Charlie Luciano and Lansky, these notorious names can be listed in a long list. They all started by selling bootleg liquor, and they are powerful enough to control the parliament and even the presidential election. The infiltration of gangs in the political and financial fields has profoundly changed American society. There are countless movies about prohibition. The godfather is the prototype of the second generation godfather, the famous gangster Charlie Luciano, and the prototype of the old Haimenros is the Jew Lansky. Starting from selling bootleg liquor, they started a professional and rigorous organized crime together.

Prohibition angered the FBI.

? During the prohibition period, mafia gangs fought fiercely, serious crimes increased sharply and political corruption occurred. The United States is almost in a state of perdition, but there are still a group of people who are always fighting at the forefront of prohibition. They are prohibition agents.

? The United States is a federal country, and each state has its own laws. Ordinary law enforcement officers can't handle cases across States. For example, the police in A state can't catch criminals in B state. With the increase of cross-state crimes such as human trafficking, gambling and prostitution, drug smuggling and counterfeit money transportation, someone must stand up and enforce the law across the state, so the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was born.

? The FBI, founded in 1908, has always been an obscure little role of the Ministry of Justice, and the prohibition of alcohol has given the FBI a chance to show its face. The boss of the federal agent is a young director, and even the president of the United States dare not offend him. The United States has changed eight presidents and 16 attorneys general, but Edgar Hoover has been the director of the FBI for 48 years. Hoover holds all the secrets of the United States. He has nude photos of Marilyn Monroe, and he also holds the erotic events of previous presidents. Martin Luther King's every move was under his supervision, and Hoover's eyes penetrated every corner. His name scares not only the president, but also the mob. He is actually the most powerful man in America.

? Before prohibition, the sheriff in the city had the most power. At the end of prohibition, the federal police usurped the role of host and intervened in local affairs on a large scale. It can be said that prohibition brought about great changes in the American judicial system, and the power of the FBI reached its peak during prohibition. Today's American TV programs often see the FBI holding its head high. They don't care about the local government or the police at all. Tracing back to the source, prohibition of alcohol made the FBI proud.

The abolition of prohibition

During the prohibition period, the alcohol consumed by the American people rose instead of falling, which not only failed to bring the expected harmonious society, but also brought many serious social problems. People are full of worries about the whereabouts of this American ship.

? 1929 during the great depression, the stock market plummeted and a large number of people lost their jobs. There is a growing call for the abolition of prohibition. Farmers demand the abolition of prohibition to promote agricultural development, and the business community also calls for the production and consumption of alcohol to stimulate the economy. The federal and state governments also don't want to lose tax revenue. The attitude of law enforcers has also changed, because the actual law enforcement ability is far from enough, and the prohibition agent is unable to support it. Moreover, law enforcers often face a dilemma. Prohibition agents break into houses and search at will, which fundamentally violates the US Constitution. Is prohibition more important or human rights more important? Some staunch teetotalers have also begun to change their attitudes, checking my house and my car every three days. I want personal freedom, so I'd better abolish the ban.

? The law that everyone is breaking the law is a dead letter and the ban has to be abolished. Franklin roosevelt sized up the situation and made the abolition of the ban one of the presidential campaign platforms. 1933, after Roosevelt came to power, he kept his promise and abolished the prohibition of 13, 18 months and 19 days, which was incorporated into Article 265438+ of the US Constitution.

1934, the year after prohibition was lifted, the California Wine Association was established to try to restore the past glory of American wine. However, prohibition of alcohol has left various sequelae for the United States. At this time, the market is full of mediocre table wine, Americans are used to inferior, homemade and medicinal "wine", and wine has become synonymous with cheap.