Prohibition went into effect on January 17, 1920, officially banning the “manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors” for beverage purposes in America. No law, however, could suddenly transform the United States into a country of teetotalers.
Prohibition was more popular in rural areas than in cities, which saw a proliferation of secret saloons and nightclubs called “speakeasies.” The exact origin of the term is unknown, but it may have come from the need for prospective patrons seeking entry to whisper—or “speak easy”—through peepholes in the front doors of the illegal establishment, such as the one in this photograph from the 1930s.
This image shows law enforcement agents dismantling the bar inside a speakeasy that had been raided in Camden, New Jersey
Moonshiners working outdoors in rural areas of the country devised a clever method to cover their tracks—literally. In order to evade Prohibition agents, moonshiners attached to their shoes wooden blocks carved to resemble cow hooves. That way, any footprints left behind would appear to be bovine, not human, and not attract suspicion. This photograph shows one such “cow shoe” seized by the police.
Americans who continued to consume alcohol during Prohibition had to find creative ways to hide their booze. In this photograph, a woman demonstrates a faux book that was used to conceal a liquor flask.
As this 1932 photograph shows, home furnishings such as lamps were also adapted into hiding spots for alcohol bottles.
The left side of this 1928 image depicts a woman wearing a large overcoat that would attract no notice. When the overcoat is removed for the image on the right, it reveals the woman has strapped to her thighs two large tins used for transporting alcohol.
Some wily drinkers even incorporated their secret hooch hiding spots into their fashion sense. This 1922 portrait depicts a woman seated at a Washington, D.C., soda fountain table, as she pours alcohol from her cane into a cup.
The Treasury Department initially had the responsibility for enforcing Prohibition before it was transferred to the Justice Department. In this photograph, law enforcement agents examine a trove of 191 pint bottles that were discovered hidden underneath a sailor’s mattress on a steamer that docked in Norfolk, Virginia.
The illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor, known as “bootlegging,” occurred on a large scale across the United States. Bootleggers relied on creative ways to hide their shipments. This 1926 photograph taken in Los Angeles shows what appeared to be a truckload of lumber. When federal agents approached the vehicle, however, they smelled the odor of alcohol and discovered a cleverly concealed trapdoor that led to the interior in which 70 cases of prime scotch were hidden.
Bootleggers sometimes ran extensive operations out of their houses. This 1930 photograph shows policemen examining liquor bottles after a raid on the Long Beach, New York, home of Eugene Shine. Inside they discovered $20,000 worth of booze.
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Prohibition only drove the alcohol industry underground, and Americans kept right on imbibing during the 13 years that Prohibition was the law of the land. Enterprising moonshiners produced millions of gallons of illegal hooch, organized crime flourished as it moved into bootlegging operations and tens of thousands of speakeasies popped up across the country.
Law enforcement found no shortage of work raiding speakeasies and bootlegging operations. However, police and federal agents could do little more than slow the flow of alcohol. Below, photographs from the 1920s and 1930s show some of the ingenious steps that American drinkers took to elude the authorities, from alcohol hidden inside hollow walking canes to liquor flasks disguised as books.
