![]() At these “dens of iniquity” (as the Puritans called them) booze could be obtained and, if you had the money, you could drink freely until closing time – or until the police raided. No sooner had the ban been implemented than illicit alcohol-serving clubs – called speakeasies – began springing up in abundance. And so, inevitably, Prohibition (as it came to be known) proved to be the catalyst that resulted in a proliferation of bootleggers and organized crime rackets that profited during Prohibition’s 13-year duration. On January 16, 1920, the Volstead Act was passed, declaring a war on alcohol (prohibiting its manufacture, sale, transportation, consumption, and importation) in a move to reduce crime, violence, and poverty, and improve the American quality of life.īut as history – and human behavior – shows us, anything that is prohibited instantly becomes more desirable. This was a different kind of conflict: a moral crusade that targeted one of humanity’s main vices. But the prospect of living a life defined by carefree hedonism was quickly quashed by the US Congress, who embarked on a new war. ![]() World War I had ended two years previously and the jubilation felt at the prospect of peace was combined with an economic boom and a post-war optimism that dovetailed with the younger generation’s desire for greater personal freedom. ![]() ![]() So how did jazz come to rule the world? For the answer to that, let’s travel back to America in 1920. ![]()
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