Prohibition in Pennsylvania: How did PA Whiskey Survive?

From 1919 to 1933 prohibition stopped all sale of spirits and liquor throughout the country. Prior to prohibition, Pennsylvania had many breweries, distilleries, and bars. It was a thriving industry. What effect did prohibition have on the liquor industry in Pennsylvania? How did the breweries and distilleries survive and what effects of prohibition do we still see today? We break down all the details of prohibition in Pennsylvania.

Prohibition Begins in Pennsylvania

On February 25,1919 Pennsylvania ratified the 18th amendment, prohibiting, “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors.”

The law did not go into effect nationally until 1920, but the government had already instituted grain restrictions due to World War One, so many distilleries and breweries started feeling the effects in Pennsylvania earlier than in other areas of the country.

There were many factors that brought about prohibition in the United States. The United States saw a rise in xenophobia against immigrants, who many saw as bringing alcohol to the country. This was especially aimed at the Irish and German populations. The temperance and women’s suffrage movements were also on the rise, with many women claiming a moral authority as part of their fight for voting rights. And finally, many were promoting cleaner government and felt the bars and saloons were influencing the moral character of political figures.

All of these factors brought about the law which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol.

Pennsylvania’s Reaction to Prohibition

Like much of the United States, Pennsylvania residents completely disregarded the prohibition laws. Prohibition just moved the consumption of alcohol underground. Speakeasies or underground bars and saloons sprung up across the Keystone State. PA residents had more bars and saloons to choose from after the introduction of prohibition.

One of the most challenging results of Prohibition was the increase in crime in most cities. Because the sale of alcohol was no longer legal, a black market for liquor was established, regulated only by bootleggers. PA’s major cities, like Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Scranton were seen as some of the wildest cities in the United States during prohibition. But Philadelphia, with as many as 16,000 speakeasies during prohibition, was the most corrupt and crime-stricken city in the Commonwealth.

Philadelphia was one of the beer capitals in the United States before prohibition, with hundreds of breweries in the city. Several of the breweries moved production to soda or “near beer” during the prohibition years, but others simply continued to make beer in the city. Police in the city cracked down on these breweries, shutting many down and arresting dozens of brew masters.

By the end of prohibition, Philadelphia was left with only 10 licensed breweries. The closing of these resulted in a significant loss of jobs throughout the city and the country, leading to even more crime than was seen prior to 1919.

The crime in most of PA’s major cities was running wild during the 1920s. Prohibition cost not only jobs, but many lives. One coroner in Philadelphia noted that every day he would see ten to twelve deaths from poisonous liquor, usually resulting from improper distillation methods. This, in addition to the increase in deaths from the high crime rates led to the downfall of prohibition in Pennsylvania and throughout the country.

Lasting Effects of Prohibition

Before prohibition was repealed in 1933, Pennsylvania Governor Gifford Pinchot created the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board so that the state would retain some control over the sale and distribution of liquor. Pinchot formed his unfavorable opinion of alcohol and its effects after witnessing drunken behavior as a young man in college. Pinchot believed that competition between private retailers of alcohol would increase the prices of alcohol and therefore increase the prevalence of bootlegging.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board was created to license and define the institutions that could serve alcohol. It also established store hours and regulated the prices of alcohol in the state. And little has changed since that time.

The action of Pinchot and the legacy of Prohibition in Pennsylvania is still experienced today. Pennsylvania is one of two states (the other is Utah) in which liquor is sold only in state-run stores.

Prohibition in PA may have failed, but we feel the effects every time we go to the liquor store.

Cheers!