120 ChaPter 3
was served, illegally but without much fear of being caught because the local
politicians and police were paid off to ignore the activity.
As for eliminating illegal activity, the law actually increased corruption and
organized crime. Al Capone, the famed Chicago mobster, brought in about
$60 million a year by selling booze and engaging in other illegal activities.
He paid hundreds of men to transport and protect hundreds of thousands of
gallons of alcohol brought in from Canada and the Caribbean. In nearby
Calumet City, Illinois, Vincenzo “Jim” Buzzancca, my grandfather, also known
as “Jimmy Botts,” had his own speakeasy. In less than a decade after he had
arrived destitute from Siciliy, he became affluent enough to own a car, hire a
maid, get tailor made suits, and socialize with local politicians and the estab-
lished “White” elite. However, the repeal of prohibition ruined his business,
in his estimation. In no time at all, most cities possessed more speakeasies
than there were legal bars before prohibition. Cleveland, for example, had
1,200 bars before 1920 and 3,000 speakeasies after. Capone’s bootlegging
enterprise made possible an expansion of his other criminal activities, espe-
cially gambling and prostitution. Once “liberated,” Americans found more
vices to enjoy with relative ease. In fact, prohibition helped the hard liquor
industry expand considerably as more Americans made the switch from beer
to other kinds of alcohol. But it had also fostered massive political corruption
and contempt for the law and large numbers of urban police forces were on
the payroll of organized crime. Increasingly, prohibition went unenforced and
it bred contempt. Not until 1933 was it repealed, when the federal govern-
ment, in the midst of a deep depression, sought any means to create jobs and
alleviate suffering.and Backlash
While jazz was becoming more popular and booze flowing more freely, many
Americans resented these changes to society and culture, and a backlash—a
movement against certain social developments—was visible and strong.
Alcohol, immigrants, sex, and secularism were all abundant, and they alarmed
many older, God-fearing, Americans. As a result, the 1920s was a decade of
new, liberal attitudes nation-wide, but also a time of reactionary movements
against them, a “culture war” if you want to use that term. There was a resur-
gence of the KKK, and more attacks on its targets. Religious groups espe-