In 1920, postmenopausal women with chips on their shoulders took to the streets to rejoice in the passing of the Prohibition amendment. Those who opposed the constitutional ban went underground, seeking a respite in speakeasies that provided bootlegged alcohol, gambling, pretty ladies, and the popular tunes of jazz music. The following list takes us back in time, detailing how speakeasies operated and transformed a nation.
10 Birth Of Jazz
During the Prohibition era, speakeasies ushered in the age of jazz music. In the “Great Migration,” black musicians from the South moved north to cities such as Chicago where they were amply employed by gangsters who owned and operated speakeasies.
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In fact, the musicians’ first audience members were gangsters. Not only did the gangsters provide steady income and employment that was once denied to these black musicians in the South, but the gangsters also became the musicians’ defenders and supporters.
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This new entertainment, which gangsters marketed as “fun and exciting,” attracted more clientele, thus allowing some whites to hear jazz for the first time. Jazz immediately became a sensation throughout the Midwest and East Coast, transforming cities such as Chicago and New York into a bustling center of black entertainment.
9 Code Of Entry
Photo credit: The Stork Club
Given the illicit activity that occurred in speakeasies, it was understandable that not everyone was allowed admittance. To gain entry, a patron needed to know a secret password, handshake or knock. More often than not, word of mouth was the catalyst that brought business to the speakeasies. Most establishments had a bouncer at the door who allowed admittance based on personal recognition and a person’s acquaintances.
However, as the industry and popularity of speakeasies grew, so did law enforcement’s watchful eye and need to crack down. It became necessary to be extra cautious, so establishments began distributing a “speakeasy card” which served as a certificate of membership and admission. This new form of portable identification was the golden ticket to illegally indulge in one’s guilty pleasures in the confines of a police-free, secure environment.
8 The Boom Of Speakeasies
The intention of Prohibition was to make America dry, but it didn’t take into account people’s free will and the neighboring nations that remained wet. The law backfired in proportions unimaginable to those who enforced and preached for the sobriety of a nation. Following the amendment, New Jersey claimed that there were 10 times as many watering holes as before. In fact, it was thought that New York had as many as 100,000 speakeasies, twice the number prior to Prohibition.
Supposedly, for every bar that closed down, another three opened in its place. Without the need to adhere to previous standards imposed on bar owners, such as trading and licensing agreements, men flocked to their basements, garages, and storerooms to open their own bars and cash in. The police force was powerless, so much so that there were four recorded speakeasies on the same street as the Boston Police Department.
