Once upon a time in this country, having a drink could get you arrested.
"Prohibition had an incredible effect on our country it really made lawbreakers out of the average citizen," said Rodney Kite-Powell, Curator at the Tampa Bay History Center.
The Tampa Bay History Center's latest exhibition, "Spirited: Prohibition in America," on display through October 20, follows the story of the 18th Amendment on the national and local levels.
Enacted in 1920, the amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol, to varying degrees of success.
"There were speakeasies, there were rum runners, there were people coming in by boat, there were people out in the counties in the rural areas operating stills," said Kite-Powell.
And that's just here in the Bay area!
The exhibition contains local pictures of hollowed out logs used in clandestine liquor transportation, newspaper articles and alcohol bottles. It also speaks to the incredible impact Prohibition had on shaping the nation’s history.
Here are three reasons the story still fascinates:
- The Rise of Organized Crime
"It really talks about the culture of prohibition era with coincided -- I'm sure not coincidentally with the Roaring 20's and the Jazz age," Kite-Powell said. - The Rise of Women in Politics
“It's no coincidence that that 19th amendment was passed soon after the 18th amendment. 18th of course was Prohibition. The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. There were a lot of people who pushed for both Prohibition and Women's suffrage," said Kite-Powell. - Lingering laws that still shape drinking habits today, even after lawmakers repealed prohibition in 1933 courtesy of the 23rd Amendment
"Those kinds of laws limiting the hours, limiting the locations, having to apply for liquor licenses--all of those things come out of the end of prohibition," said Kite-Powell.