Preview

Moonshine

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2420 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Moonshine
According to Nascar they are one of the biggest spectator sports in the US today. Who doesn't love to watch cars zooming around a track trying to find out who is the fastest? In the late 1930's Southern Americans were looking for some entertainment and decided to watch bootleggers race each other to see who was the fastest. By December 1947 Big Bill France organized a meeting to conceive an idea of stock car races. And by February 1948 the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, otherwise known as Nascar was born. But how did moonshine really get Nascar going?
Prohibition
Prohibition was a national law enforcing a ban on the sale, manufacture, or transportation of alcohol. This ban was obligatory between 1920 to 1933. If you happened to get busted with alcohol, especially if you were a bootlegger you were looking at Federal Charges. There were huge disputes as to whether or not the government should be able to moderate alcohol in the US. Many people felt their rights were being violated. While others like George Remus, a well known criminal attorney, changed from lawyer to bootlegger. George Remus was amazed at the ease bootleggers had in their step when peeling bills of a wad of cash to pay their lawyer fees. Soon George Remus would be a renowned bootlegger bringing in more money than Al Capone.
Bootleggers
Bootleggers were the guys who drove the bottled moonshine from the stills to the customer. Bootleggers had to get extremely good at outrunning the police, because if they didn't then they would be in jail and unable to support their families. Since bootlegging was their livelihood not only did they learn to drive fast down narrow back country dirt roads, but they also modified their cars. Some of the modifications bootleggers used were: * 1. They built the springs up for suspension. * 2. Altered the cars frame * 3. Altered the cars tires
4. According to David Sosbee (son of Gober Sosbee a racing legend and bootlegger) that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Moonshine Research Paper

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Shine runner, lightning mover are just a couple of names for those who used to transport this illegal product, moonshine. Inspite of this, NASCAR was birthed as a result of shine running, this begs the question how did this magnificent sport come from such dire origins. This beverage was called moonshine because it would be transported at night time, so it earned the name moonshine because the shine runners would work underneath the moon’s shine transporting this alcoholic substance. These bootleggers, or moonshiners knew that getting caught transporting this illegal beverage meant jail time. So in order to evade government agents or law enforcement they manipulated their box cars to…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When talking about the history of prohibition and Mobs the most famous name to come up will usually be Al Capone, yet he was not the only big name in the bootlegging business and there war many gangs all vying for control of this illicit business. To name a few, there was Dion O’Banion who controlled Chicago’s Near North side, Klondike O’Donnell and his brothers who commanded the Northwest side, the “Terrible Genna brothers” who controlled the Near West Side, and Irish O’Donnell brother on the Southwest side (Lombardo 81). These gangs and others not listed were all grabbing for power in a seemingly cold war against each other. Gang violence would later become increasingly common and violent once these gangs became more established and hungry…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Al Capon Research Paper

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Prohibition Era was between 1920 and 1933. During this time, all alcohol was illegal to possess, produce, or distribute due to the 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution. This caused many people to start smuggling alcohol, or to start creating secret underground bars called “Speakeasies”. During the Prohibition, many mobs, or gangs as we would call them today, were formed and fighting over alcohol and territory. The mobs of Chicago during the Prohibition Era had many notorious leaders, such as Al Capone and Dean O’Bannon.…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gang organizations saw a way to create a “black market” for alcohol, “The growth of the illegal liquor trade under Prohibition made criminals of millions of Americans” (Lerner). This showed how desperate some Americans were to get alcohol. Even some officials were tempted by money, “Police officers and Prohibition agents alike were frequently tempted by bribes or the lucrative opportunity to go into bootlegging themselves” (Lerner). Corrupt officials was one of the key reasons Prohibition was a huge failure for the US. People found many loopholes in the 18th Amendment. For example, “One of the legal exceptions to the Prohibition law was that pharmacists were allowed to dispense whiskey by prescription for any number of ailments, ranging from anxiety to influenza. Bootleggers quickly discovered that running a pharmacy was a perfect front for their trade” (Lerner). This show one of the many loopholes of Prohibition. For these reasons and many others congress was pushed to make a final decision on…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the Jazz age, in the 1920’s, prohibition is a law that enforces rules against drinking. Prohibition is the illegal distribution of alcohol from 1919 to 1933. This is created during the 18th amendment to reduce crime and improve the health of citizens. Prohibition created more crime and made a lot of people smoke more as a habit, taking place of their drinking. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald, speakeasies and bootleggers began to sell their own alcohol and make their own money. Because of this the crime rate was high and went against the point of prohibition which was to decrease felonies. Everyone in Gatsby, or most everyone, attended the parties that Gatsby threw and all drank alcohol that he provided. Gatsby is…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I call myself a businessman. I make my money by supplying a popular demand. If I break the law, my customers are as guilty as I am”(May 91). Prohibition was put into place in 1919, and this instantly did not sit well with many Americans. The Eighteenth Amendment made it illegal to “manufacture, sell, or transport liquor on a national level”(Moss 147). This however did not make it illegal to drink alcohol, just to produce or sell it to the consumer. People all over the country just wanted to drink and have fun but in a heartbeat, it was next to impossible to get any type of alcohol. Shortly after the Volstead Act was passed which defined intoxicating liquor as “ a drink that was more than .5 percent alcohol”(Moss 147). With it now illegal to get liquor there was…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Popcorn Research Paper

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages

    On October 5, 1946 in Maggie Valley, NC a legendary moonshiner was born-- The boy’s name was Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton. He loved to explore the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains. The boy woke up and slowly slid out of his bed; crept to his Rose window as the sun pierced his face. Little boy “Popcorn”, squinted his eyes, trying to block out the blinding sun; as he reached for the window latch. Once, Marvin got the window open, he smile at the yellow birch, mixture of maple, and beech trees, and leaf covered ground.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prohibition was a black eye in the history of the United States. Prohibition started in 1920 and ended in 1933. Prohibition cause more harm than good in the U.S. in the length of time that it was in effect. Prohibition was instituted with ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on January 16, 1919, and went into effect in the 1920’s. Congress passed the "Volstead Act" on October 28, 1919, to enforce the law. Most big cities and most states did not like this, so much so, that they didn’t enforce this law and kept selling, buying, and drinking alcohol; in fact, most of the Police officers and government officials themselves were still consuming, buying, and selling alcohol. So really, what was the point of it? This made many criminals who took advantage of Alcohol being illegal and made huge profits.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The prohibition was a important in American history. Most Americans did not want the Prohibition to happen but most people know that In 1919, “congress passed the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution , outlawing the manufacturing and sale of alcohol nationwide” (Benson). This sent people into anger and madness. A majority of Americans were in favor of alcohol and did not want to give it up, this made people illegally make, receive, and transport alcohol so they could get what they wanted. If the Prohibition was never repealed, it would most likely be common to have people illegally get alcohol and no one would question it.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Prohibition Act was the 18th amendment, its goal was to stop the manufacturing, sale, and transport of alcoholic beverages. This act passed because many people believe that “drinking was behind some of America's most serious problems like corruption, child abuse, crime, unemployment, and worker safety” (mini q pg117). Prohibition was passed during World War 1 because they thought that people purchasing and spending money on alcoholic beverages was…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol remained available during Prohibition. People still got drunk, still became alcoholics, still suffered delirium tremens. Drunken drivers remained a frequent menace on the highways. Drunks continued to commit suicide, to kill others, and to be killed by others. They continued to beat their own children, sometimes fatally. The courts, jails, hospitals, and mental hospitals were still filled with drunks, In some respects and in some parts of the country, perhaps, the situation was a little better during Prohibition-but in other respects it was unquestionably worse.…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    They either had to join in organized crimes, gangs, or obtain a lower paying job. At the time jobs were scarce, so many preferred to partake in bootlegging, which is the illegal production and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Usually bootleggers sold the rum in illegal bars called speakeasies. Bill McCoy was a rum runner smuggler during the Prohibition (Perry). Although, the alcohol sold in the speakeasies was not made in companies and poisoned many; many still desired to get a hold of it.…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Prohibition was a law put in place on January 29, 1919, to stop crime, corruption, solve social/relationship problems, reduce the tax burden created by the poor. The government insisted that this would create a healthier, and safer environment that would benefit society. Prohibition did not only fail, but cause many other problems One of the Prohibitions main use was to reduce crime. The government was certain that alcohol was the factor for causing crime.…

    • 184 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Government officials try hard to stop the building of distilleries and the production of illegal moonshine. According to ALE agents, 34 illegal distilleries were discovered in North Carolina since the year 2010, not including the liquor stills that local sheriffs had seized and destroyed (Ball). With the many different ways to transport and hide liquor stills the government would have to patrol rivers, lakes,…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Prohibition Bad

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Distilleries in Canada and Mexico flourished as “bootleggers” and “rum runners” smuggled liquor across the borders to sell on the black market. People began making their own gin and “moonshine” in bathtubs, creating “bathtub gin.” Although Prohibition was formed to stop drinking completely, it did not even come close. It created a large number of bootleggers who were able to supply the public with illegal alcohol. Many of these bootleggers became very rich and influential through selling alcohol and using other methods.…

    • 1135 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics