Prohibition

The prohibition in the United States was instituted with the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution on January 16, 1919. The prohibition was heavily sponsored by the evangelical protestant churches, and it made the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol illegal in the states. However, one misconception is that drinking alcohol itself was illegal, which is not true. In essence, the prohibition made it much more difficult to obtain alcohol, it was not strictly enforced  because many large cities were uninterested in following through with the legislation. As a result of the prohibition organized crime in relation to the production and distribution of alcohol, opening up the black market to it. At the time of the prohibition, only the most wealthy people had unlimited access to alcohol just like Jay Gatsby, making them extremely popular amongst the normal crowd. In The Great Gatsby this is already evident. We can see how Gatsby's parties are filled with uninvited guests leaching off of his wealth and access to alcoholic drinks. These people lack morals and values because they do not even care where they are or who the host of the party is; they are only concerned about drinking and partying. However, Gatsby does not seem to be bothered by this actuality which is quite mysterious.

Bootleggers