What Led to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre?

On October 28, 1919 Congress passed a bill that would go into effect on January 16, 1920. The bill would add an 18th amendment to the Constitution. This amendment stated that liquor could not be sold or bought anywhere in the United States. It did not make the personal production and consumption of alcohol illegal. On that very day a new industry was formed. People around the country figured out that since the sale of alcohol was illegal, you could charge more for alcohol, and not have to pay taxes on your “business.”

This new industry spawned a need for people to make, transport, and sell alcohol illegally. There was no shortage of buyers. Many people with wooded property set up stills in the woods. If you had a fast car and could drive well, you could become a rumrunner. In fact, modern racing was born from rum running.

Soon people like Bugs Moran and Al Capone got into the business. Organized crime became very commonplace in cities like Chicago and New York. Every gang needed a leader, and Bugs Moran stepped up. He led The North Siders gang as an adult. Their whole goal was to get alcohol cheap by any means necessary and sell it for more.

The U.S. lost billions of dollars because of prohibition. Since there was no sale of alcohol legally, tax could not be charged on liquor. Also the government had to enforce the laws pertaining to prohibition. Thousands of law enforcement officers were hired just to stop the illegal sale of alcohol. Those people had to be paid.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was the beginning of the end for prohibition. Bugs Moran no longer had a gang. The government was beginning to realize that the negatives of prohibition outweighed the few positives. In 1933 the 21st amendment to the Constitution was passed. Prohibition was repealed.