Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.
Deborah Blum, The Chemist’s War: The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition with deadly consequences. Slate (via abcsoupdot) (via robot-heart-politics)




![William Marcy Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878), known as “Boss Tweed,” was an American politician most famous for his leadership of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19th century New York. At the height of his influence, Tweed was the third-largest landowner in New York City, a director of the Erie Railway, the Tenth National Bank, and the New-York Printing Company, as well as proprietor of the Metropolitan Hotel.[1]](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kof77gYFZp1qz6q52o1_400.jpg)






