We Want Beer Parade

In 1932...

Gangsters controlled the illegal sale of alcohol. And it was estimated that between 350 and 400 murders per year could be traced to the lucrative--if dangerous--beer and bootlegging business. As unemployment soared, fewer could deny that if beer sales were legalized the violence would end, thousands of jobs would be created and millions in desperately needed tax revenue would come rolling in. 

So when New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker organized the daylong "We Want Beer" Parade, the event was attended by an estimated crowd of 100,000 who not only pined for a cold one but who also were sick of the violence and corruption associated with the banning of beer sales. Another surprising crowd of 40,000 turned up the same day in Chicago to lend their voices to the effort. "Beer for Prosperity" became the anti-Prohibition battle cry. And soon voices of the unemployed drowned out the buzz-and-revenue killing voices of the "drys."

Text Source: Alabama Living