The Rise of Bootlegging in the 1920's

The ratification of the 18th amendment on January 16th, 1920 began the over-decade long industry of bootlegging. The 18th amendment banned the manufacturing, transporting, and sale of "intoxicating liquors" throughout the United States. Prohibition proved hard to enforce as the amendment never defined "intoxicating liquors" or any penalties.

As a result, the Volstead Act was passed by Congress, after being vetoed by President Wilson. The Volstead Act defined an "intoxicating liquor" to be any beverage with more than 0.5% alcohol by volume and that no person could "manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish or possess any intoxicating liquor".

During the prohibition period, bootleggers from Canada and the Bahamas smuggled alcohol into the United States. The Carribean ships would bring rum and drop their anchors 3 miles off the American coastline, just far enough so that the Coast Guard would have no jurisdiction. Then, smaller "contact boats" would meet these ships in the cover of night, and bring the rum to shore. The smaller boats had the advantage of quick manuvering and could easily outrun the Coast Guard. This continued until 1924 when an act of Congress extended U.S. jurisdiction to 12 miles.

One of the most infamous bootleggers of all time was Roy Olmstead, a former lieutenant on the Seattle police force. He had been fired from his position after being caught bootlegging whiskey. Because many of the local law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges were either clients or on his payroll. He kept the operation up for 5 years until he was arrested after federal agents had wiretapped his phone. Wiretapping at the time was illegal in the state of Washington, but not on a federal level. The illegally obtained calls were used in court, and Olmstead was sentenced to 4 years manual labor. When he appealed to the Supreme Court they upheld his sentence and it wasn't until he had served his sentence that he received a presidential pardon.

Sources
1. "History of the Federal Judiciary." History of the Federal Judiciary. Federal Judicial Center, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016. 
2. "The Volstead Act | National Archives." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration, 15 Aug. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
3. "Bootlegging." Bootlegging - New World Encyclopedia. New World Encyclopedia, 17 June 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
4. History.com Staff. "Prohibition." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
5. Woodward, Mikala. "Roy Olmstead: Seattle's "Rum King"" Roy Olmstead: Seattle's "Rum King" — Rainier Valley Historical Society. Rainier Valley Historical Society, 2015. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.