Women and Trafficking: A Brief History of Women During Prohibition

The following is a guest post from Megan Luebbermanan intern at the Creative digital projects of the Congressional Law LibraryShe recently graduated with her bachelor’s degree in English from Vanguard University of Southern California and hopes to work as a writer and editor on stories that inspire others.

The 1920s were often characterized by a party atmosphere. Illegal speakeasies, or secret bars, sprang up all over the United States, even in Washington, D.C., in defiance of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.” Law enforcement saw an increase in criminal gang activity and tried to enforce the ban on alcohol, despite being outnumbered and understaffed. Instead of encouraging sobriety and morality, the ban on alcohol seemed to create an increased interest in drinking and partying. Many found creative ways to evade law enforcement and created secret bars to drink and dance. Ultimately, America’s drinkers won out over Prohibition and it came to an end with the 21st Amendment.

Women saw an expansion in their social skills, allowing them to participate in such social gatherings. Before the introduction of speakeasies, women were often forbidden from going to saloons and were not expected to drink in public. Once speakeasies were created, the sexes were no longer segregated from drinking together. Women were suddenly allowed to dance and drink in public, and some women even owned speakeasies of their own.

The irony in the rise of female drinkers and partygoers was that many women had been committed to Prohibition with their newfound right to vote. Both the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Women’s Suffrage movement had worked together to ban the consumption of alcohol. Women’s rights movements in the 1920s changed and transformed in several ways, beginning with Prohibition, followed by their right to vote the following year, and continuing with their personal autonomy, demonstrated through their involvement in illegal bars and other social changes. Despite their original commitment to Prohibition, some women changed their minds after the 18th Amendment was passed, and their participation in speakeasies eventually opened up a wide range of important social, entrepreneurial, and legal opportunities for women. The female experience of Prohibition helped shape the history of gender roles and created pathways into the public sphere.

(Woman with “Abolish Prohibition!” poster). Harris & Ewing. 1931. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hec.36340

Societal Changes – Shifts in Social Expectations of Women

Before Prohibition, saloons were largely male-dominated spaces, although some establishments did have a ladies’ entrance for women with separate areas for drinking. The creation of speakeasies allowed women to drink with men in public spaces without any enforced separation of the sexes. The social taboo of women drinking, dancing, and dressing less modestly in more public ways was broken as society saw more and more women immerse themselves in the wild atmosphere of speakeasies, which were themselves taboo.

As perceptions changed, some establishments even started to cater directly to their female customers. Certain restaurants offered table service to women who felt uncomfortable at the bar, so they could still drink but still be seated properly at a table. Meanwhile, bootleggers and gangsters welcomed the revenue of any individual, regardless of gender.

(A woman sitting at a table at a soda fountain pours alcohol from a stick into a cup, during Prohibition; a large Coca-Cola ad on the wall.) February 13, 1922. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.05760

Bootlegging – A Business Opportunity for Women

In addition to visiting speakeasies, many women took an active role in opposing Prohibition as bootleggers. Most ran their businesses out of their homes on a small scale, with some making profits that could rival a man’s annual salary in a matter of weeks. Colorado Encyclopedia states that:

“(i)n the 1920s, women took on a variety of illegal jobs involving drink, from running kitchen boilers to peddling liquor, keeping sales records and smuggling alcohol in and across borders. Some women became so involved in illegal crime networks that they committed murder.”

Other, more famous women owned and managed entire speakeasies and became successful entrepreneurs in the process. Helen Morgan managed several speakeasies in New York while working as a performer on Broadway. Texas Guinan, another actress, was one of the most famous speakeasies and icons – she managed speakeasies for gangsters before later opening her own. Women continued to stand out in the speakeasies as owners, hostesses, and performers all rolled into one.

Miss Texas Guinan, Movie Cow Girl, visited the White House today. Left to right: Harold Vosburgh, George Nagle, Miss Guinan, Arthur Ludwig, Wells Guinan, 04-22-22. April 22, 1922. Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.06144

Law Enforcement – ​​Women on Both Sides

Women becoming prominent smugglers, let alone involved in Mafia organizations, was seemingly unheard of in society—so much so that even the police treated female criminals differently simply because of their gender. In court, there are records of judges letting female criminals go or giving them very minor sentences for their smuggling crimes. This made them less likely to be arrested or punished, and therefore women became ideal for use in the Mafia. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives:

“(a)n increasing number of bootleggers would use women to smuggle their alcohol, as several states had laws prohibiting male officers from frisking or otherwise searching female suspects, creating a pressing need for female police officers.”

Prohibition also provided new opportunities for women to join law enforcement, specifically to catch these female offenders. The first female Internal Revenue Service agent and the first Prohibition agent, Georgia Hopley, spoke of a woman’s ability to catch female lawbreakers, who she said used more tricks to avoid detection and arrest than their male counterparts.

Mrs. Georgia Hopley. 1922. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.05737

After Prohibition ended, public opinion often still held that women should not drink in public, but women celebrated with “mixed public drinking” to mark the end of one era and the beginning of another. In 2021, 38.4% of people employed in the retail sale of beer, wine, and spirits were women (Table 14). Prohibition helped shift paradigms of gender roles and the way society viewed women, both in the alcohol industry and in the world at large, to where we are today.

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