Abstract
Prohibition (1920-1933) spawned a wave of public tolerance for illegal activities that many scholars now interpret as part of a larger American response to cultural changes in the aftermath of World War I. Women, especially young women, became visible signs of that change. From their bobbed hair to the alcohol they drank openly, these “new” women exemplified a world turned upside down. It is not surprising that stories of female bootleggers filled the day’s mass media: the topic was sure to provoke a response and, it was hoped, sell more newspapers.
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