Prohibition and Bootlegging in the American West

Prohibition was materialized by eager Temperance Movements organizers who sought to shape public opinion through alcoholic beverage control in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The success of reformers’ efforts resulted in national Prohibition in America from 1920 to 1933, but it also resulted in a thriving illegal business in the manufacture and distribution of illegal liquor. The history of Prohibition and the resulting illegal drinking is frequently told through the lens of crime and violence in Chicago and other major East Coast cities.

Often neglected in historical studies are the effects of Prohibition on the western part of the United States and how Westerners rose to the challenge of avoiding the consequences of illegal drinking. Illegal liquor was imported from abroad, made in stills using strange ingredients that were sometimes poisonous to the unlucky drinker. This history of Prohibition in the Western U.S. includes stories that range from serious to quirky, providing an entertaining account of how misguided efforts resulted in numerous unintended consequences.