Life — March 24, 1927 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Prohibition-era cartoon satirizes organized crime's grip on American society during alcohol prohibition. The image depicts "The Bootlegger"—a figure dressed in checkered pants distributing money—conducting "Big Business" from a speakeasy marked "Prohibition." The satire's point: prohibition laws, intended to eliminate vice, instead created a thriving black market that enriched criminals and corrupted society. The bootlegger has become indispensable to the economy and social life, with the title's rhetorical question suggesting Americans had grown dependent on illegal alcohol suppliers. This reflects contemporary criticism that Prohibition (1920-1933) failed to eliminate drinking while empowering gangsters and organized crime syndicates throughout the country.