Chicago
The ratification of the 18th amendment to the Constitution in 1919 made the production and sale (including exportation) of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. This ushered in the beginning of what is known as the Gangster Era, a time that roughly spans from 1919 until 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. The 1920s saw gangsters, including Al Capone, Dion O'Banion, Bugs Moran and Tony Accardo battle law enforcement and each other on the streets of Chicago during the Prohibition era. Chicago was the location of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929, when Al Capone sent men to gun down members of a rival gang, North Side, led by Bugs Moran.
Joseph Lonardo
Prohibition began in Ohio on May 27, 1919, and nationally throughout the United States on January 16, 1920. Once stockpiles of alcohol were consumed, the brewing of beer and distillation of liquor at home increased exponentially in Prohibition's the first few years. Although the smuggling of liquor into the country was also common, it became more so than home brewing and distillation only after 1923.