Prohibition in Hutchinson County


Prohibition began on January 16, 1920. After midnight on that day, it was illegal to even possess alcoholic beverages. The 18th amendment, called the Volstead Act prohibited the manufacture, sale, and possession of alcohol anywhere in the country. If the idea behind this act was to reduce crime, then it failed badly. Illegal manufacture and importation of alcoholic beverages sprang up everywhere. People drank more than ever before, and morals deteriorated until it almost appeared that the mob ran everything. The old neighborhood saloon disappeared and in its place there were speakeasies, locally called “joints,” which supplied not only alcohol, but also prostitutes and other illicit pleasures. Drinking, dancing, and sex were available for everyone at a price.

    In June of 1920, women obtained the right to vote through another amendment to the constitution. These women, known as suffragettes, were soon overpowered by the wilder sort known as flappers. A third kind, the floozy, flourished, especially in cities, all across America. This was the climate of America when the Borger Boom hit in 1926. The sudden throwing together of many people from all walks of life in a situation which was unfamiliar to all, caused morals to evaporate. Borger happened during the prohibition era, and because of this, it proved one of the wildest booms in the history of America.