Abstract
Getting around the restrictions of the Volstead Act and the 18th Amendment inspired countless methods for transporting illegal liquor by land, air, and sea. With the adoption of Prohibition in 1920, water-based smuggling networks quickly sprang up between the Atlantic Coast of the United States and the rum rich islands of the Caribbean. The speedy boatmen and their varied craft came to be called “rum runners,” and the name soon became synonymous with all water-based smuggling during Prohibition regardless of the type of alcohol the boats were carrying.
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