Speakeasy: Difference between revisions
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[[File:21Club.JPG|thumb|right|400px|New York's [[21 Club]] was a Prohibition-era speakeasy.]] |
[[File:21Club.JPG|thumb|right|400px|New York's [[21 Club]] was a Prohibition-era speakeasy.]] |
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A '''speakeasy''', also called a '''blind |
A '''speakeasy''', also called a '''blind yeller''' or '''big ol ben''', is an establishment that illegally sells [[alcoholic beverage]]s. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]] (1920–1933, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation ([[rum-running|bootlegging]]) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States. |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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Revision as of 19:11, 1 October 2012
A speakeasy, also called a blind yeller or big ol ben, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition (1920–1933, longer in some states). During this time, the sale, manufacture, and transportation (bootlegging) of alcoholic beverages was illegal throughout the United States.
Etymology
The term "speakeasy" might have originated in Pennsylvania in 1888, when the Brooks High-License Act raised the state's fee for a saloon license from $50 to $500. The number of licensed bars promptly plummeted, but some bars continued to operate illegally. Kate Hester had run a saloon for years in McKeesport, just outside of Pittsburgh. She refused to pay the new license fee and wanted to keep from drawing attention to her illegal business. When her customers got too rowdy, she would hush them by whispering, "Speak easy, boys! Speak easy!"
According to an 1889 newspaper, “Unlicensed saloons in Pennsylvania are known as ‘speak-easies.’”[1]
History
Speakeasies were numerous and popular during the Prohibition years. Some of them were operated by people who were part of organized crime. Even though police and agents of the Bureau of Prohibition would often raid them and arrest their owners and patrons, they were so profitable that they continued to flourish.
Blind pigs and blind tigers
The term "blind pig" (or "blind tiger") originated in the United States in the 19th century; it was applied to lower-class establishments that sold alcoholic beverages illegally. The operator of an establishment (such as a saloon or bar) would charge customers to see an attraction (such as an animal) and then serve a "complimentary" alcoholic beverage, thus circumventing the law.
"In desperate cases it has to betake itself to the exhibition of Greenland pigs and other curious animals, charging 25 cents for a sight of the pig and throwing in a gin cocktail gratuitously."[2]
"[They] are in a mysterious place called a ‘blind tiger,’ drinking the very bad whiskey for which Prohibition is indirectly responsible."[3]
A speakeasy was usually a higher-class establishment that offered food and entertainment. In large cities, some speakeasies even required a coat and tie for men, and evening dress for women. A blind pig was usually a dive where only beer and liquor were offered.
Blind pigs continue to exist in the United States. Alcoholic beverages for on-site or off-site consumption are sold illegally from homes.
Gangsters
The era of Prohibition saw the growth of organized crime in the United States.
Gangsters such as Dutch Schultz, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano made fortunes by supplying illegal beer and liquor to speakeasies across the country.
Some speakeasies were used as homes and offices by gangsters, who adopted an extravagant and easily identifiable lifestyle. Successful gangsters could be identified by their fashionable silk suits, expensive jewelry, and guns.
Bootlegging
The term “bootlegging” came into use in the 1880s, when it referred to the practice of hiding flasks of illegal liquor inside boots.
Bootlegging was widespread in the United States during Prohibition. Even though the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages, the law was widely disobeyed by the public and even by government officials.
During Prohibition, the production of illegal beer and whiskey quickly expanded across the country. Bootleggers made large profits by distributing these products to speakeasies and other consumers. Bootlegging became an organized business run by crime families and gangsters, (e.g. Al Capone).
Locations
In many rural towns, small speakeasies and blind pigs were operated by local business owners. These family secrets were often kept even after Prohibition ended. In 2007 secret underground rooms thought to have been a speakeasy were found by renovators on the grounds of the Cyber Cafe West in Binghamton, New York.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Cheney Sentinel. September 13, 1889. p. 1, col. 1.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) (A newspaper in Cheney, Washington) - ^ MacRae, David (1870). The Americans at Home: Pen-and-Ink Sketches of American Men, Manners, and Institutions. Vol. Volume II. Edinburgh, Scotland. p. 315.
{{cite book}}:|volume=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Atlantic Monthly (February, 1912): p. 206.
{{cite journal}}:|pages=has extra text (help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Sweeny, Caitlin. "Remains of Speakeasy found in Cyber Cafe parking lot" April 17, 2007. Pipe Dream : Binghamton University. June 2, 2012.
Bibliography
- Kahn, Gordon, and Al Hirschfeld. The Speakeasies of 1932. New York: Glenn Young Books, (1932, rev. 2003). ISBN 1-55783-518-7
- Loretta Britten, Paul Mathiess, ed. Our American Century Jazz Age: The 20’s. 1998. Time Life Books. New York: Bishop Books Inc., 1969. ISBN 0-7835-5509-1
- Streissguth, Thomas. The Dry Years. The Roaring Twenties. Encyclopedia. 2007 ed. Facts On File, Inc. 2007. ISBN 0-8160-6423-7
External links
- Galperina, Marina. "The Museum of the American Gangster Opens Doors of Former Speakeasy in March." February 19, 2010. Animal New York. 25 March 2010.