Illegal traffic in liquor in the U.S. The term was probably first used to describe the practice of concealing flasks of illicit liquor in boot tops when going to trade with Indians.
It became widely used in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act of 1919 effected the prohibition of liquor manufacturing and sales. Early bootleggers smuggled foreign-made liquor into the U.S. from Canada and Mexico and from ships anchored in international waters. Later sources included medicinal whiskey, denatured alcohol, and the manufacture of corn liquor. Bootlegging led to the rise of Prohibition was repealed by the 21st Amendment. Some counties and municipalities continue to ban liquor, and bootlegging is still practiced.