The Mafia was an organization rooted in defiance of the government (Michael Cavendish 78). On January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment was ratified, prohibiting the importing, exporting, manufacturing, and distribution of alcohol. Ten months later the Volstead Act was passed to enforce the law. The Volstead Act gave the United States Government the right to enforce Prohibition. The United States Government became an easy target of the Mafia by trying to enforce the 18th amendment, and bootlegging, or the selling of illegal alcohol, was born. The unions were overtaken, and as a result distribution to the Mafia owned illegal bars known as "speak easies", could occur (Fred J. Cook 52). Any man or organization opposing the Mafia would lose his life. Henceforth, the selling of protection grew. Instead of a semi - feudal, exclusively Sicilian association, the Mafia was Americanized to reflect the diverse character and lush opportunities of the adopted land. It grew more flexible, more cooperative, and above all more like a giant American cooperation. Because of the Prohibition Era, the Mafia flourished throughout the United States of America.

The Mafia was an organization rooted in defiance of the government (Michael Cavendish 78). On January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment was ratified, prohibiting the importing, exporting, manufacturing, and distribution of alcohol. Ten months later the Volstead Act was passed to enforce the law. The Volstead Act gave the United States Government the right to enforce Prohibition. The United States Government became an easy target of the Mafia by trying to enforce the 18th amendment, and bootlegging, or the selling of illegal alcohol, was born. The unions were overtaken, and as a result distribution to the Mafia owned illegal bars known as "speak easies", could occur (Fred J. Cook 52). Any man or organization opposing the Mafia would lose his life. Henceforth, the selling of protection grew. Instead of a semi - feudal, exclusively Sicilian association, the Mafia was Americanized to reflect the diverse character and lush opportunities of the adopted land. It grew more flexible, more cooperative, and above all more like a giant American cooperation. Because of the Prohibition Era, the Mafia flourished throughout the United States of America.

Soon after the first Sicilian Mafia dons arrived, they took over local crime and converted it into alcohol running operations. In the Little Italys of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Louisiana, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and other cities, many households produced homemade wine and had their own little stills. Put into steady production, these distilleries poured out thousands of gallons of alcohol for the Mafia gangs to distribute. At one point, eighty percent of all Canadian whiskey production found its way overland or by sea into the United States of America. With the Mafia's deep-rooted clannishness, hatred for the law, brutality, and talent for organization, the Mafia ruled New York's Little Italy (Anton Blok 27). Not only did the Mafia make it's money through the illegal distribution of liquor, but the gangsters also operated lotteries and took their cut from many of the poker games that occurred. According to New York Detectives Tom Tripodi and Joseph P. Desario the crime syndicate loaned money at usurious rates, imported and distributed narcotics, and held monopolies on vital foodstuffs: olive oil, cheese, anchovies, and artichokes (130). Every merchant paid a dollar or two a week as protection money, right down to the pushcart peddlers, whose carts would be smashed and merchandise scattered if they withheld as little as a dime. The people either paid the gang what they wanted or they lost everything they had including their lives. With every dollar that the Mafia got from its "customers", they could afford to manufacture more liquor to sell. The gang sold the liquor at a very high price claiming that it was "fresh off the boat", meaning authentic Canadian alcohol but in all actuality, the liquor was just bogus Scotch or gin made in local distilleries. Every man that had to pay for protection was helping the Mafia become more deeply rooted in the United States.

Bridgewater, William and Kurtz, Seymor. Columbia Encyclopedia. New York:

During prohibition alcohol was a quick way to get rich. Although many people say that just about everyone could get rich, only the few who had the resources and the attitude could get rich. The Mafia might not have been a single person, but the entire crime organization used all of its resources to achieve greatness. Through the bootlegging business, they achieved a reputation that is talked about even today. The original La Cosa Nostra recognizes them with respect, which is a great honor in the criminal world. Without Prohibition, the Mafia might not have been as successful and significant an organization. The capital and funds that the crime syndicate gained cumulated to ten billion just during that era. When people think of the Mafia, they see murder, conspiracy and racketeering. However, the Mafia greatly increased t

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Approximate Word count = 7096
Approximate Pages = 28 (250 words per page double spaced)