Lena Savoie
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919, prohibited the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in the country. The amendment was the result of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that banning the sale of alcohol would reduce poverty and societal issues. While the Eighteenth Amendment did not outlaw alcohol consumption, it made the production, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors illegal. This led to the emergence of an underground market, with alcohol smuggling and illicit bars becoming prevalent. Public sentiment eventually turned against Prohibition during the late 1920s, and the amendment was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933, marking the only instance of a constitutional amendment being repealed in American history.
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What You'll Learn
The Eighteenth Amendment
To enforce the Eighteenth Amendment, Congress passed the Volstead Act, which provided for the federal enforcement of Prohibition and defined the language used in the amendment. The Act forbade the production, sale, transportation, or possession of beverages that contained 0.5% or greater alcohol by volume. However, the Act allowed the licensed production, use, and sale of alcohol for certain industrial, medicinal, religious, and scientific purposes, and it did not specifically prohibit drinking or purchasing alcoholic beverages.
Public sentiment turned against Prohibition by the late 1920s, and in 1932, Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt included a plan for repealing the Eighteenth Amendment in his platform. Roosevelt won the election that November, and in February 1933, Congress adopted a resolution proposing the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and modified the Volstead Act to permit the sale of beer. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, making the Eighteenth Amendment the only constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed.
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Prohibition
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, into, or out of the United States. The amendment was the result of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that banning the sale of alcohol would eliminate poverty and improve societal issues such as immoral sexual behaviour and violence.
While the Eighteenth Amendment did not ban the consumption of alcohol outright, it made it illegal to produce, transport, or sell intoxicating liquors. The amendment was enforced by the Volstead Act, which provided for federal enforcement of Prohibition and defined "intoxicating liquors" as beverages containing 0.5% or greater alcohol by volume. This included beer, light wines, and distilled spirits. The Volstead Act allowed the licensed production, use, and sale of alcohol for certain industrial, medicinal, religious, and scientific purposes, and it did not prohibit the possession of legally acquired alcoholic beverages.
Despite the amendment, nationwide enforcement of Prohibition proved difficult, particularly in cities. Alcohol smuggling and illicit bars became popular, and public sentiment began to turn against Prohibition during the 1920s. The Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1893, was the organization most responsible for the Eighteenth Amendment's proposal and ratification. They engaged with Protestant churches and both major political parties, publishing political pamphlets and giving speeches in support of Prohibition. However, by the late 1920s, public sentiment had turned against Prohibition, with opponents arguing that the ban on alcohol denied jobs to the unemployed and revenue to the government.
On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed a new amendment to end Prohibition, and it was ratified on December 5, 1933, as the Twenty-first Amendment. This amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and modified the Volstead Act to permit the sale of beer. The Twenty-first Amendment was unique in both the way it was ratified and its ultimate purpose to repeal a previous addition to the Constitution. While the ban on alcohol was lifted, Section 2 of the amendment implies that states are ultimately responsible for regulating the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.
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The Volstead Act
The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors but did not define what constituted an intoxicating liquor. The Volstead Act defined an intoxicating beverage as anything containing more than 0.5% alcohol and made it illegal to "manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish, or possess" such beverages. The Act also set forth fines and jail sentences for those who violated the law, as well as regulations for law enforcement, including search and seizure powers.
The movement to prohibit alcoholic beverages had been gaining momentum for decades, led by groups such as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League. These groups lobbied local, state, and federal governments relentlessly, and by 1917, Congress had sent the Eighteenth Amendment to the states, with a seven-year deadline for passage. The states ratified the amendment within 13 months.
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The Twenty-First Amendment
The text of the Twenty-First Amendment is concise: "The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed." This amendment not only repealed the Eighteenth Amendment but also modified the Volstead Act, which had provided for the federal enforcement of Prohibition. The Volstead Act had forbidden the production, sale, transportation, or possession of alcoholic beverages, with varying definitions of "intoxicating liquors" that included beer, wine, and distilled spirits. However, it allowed licensed production, use, and sale of alcohol for specific purposes, such as industrial, medicinal, religious, and scientific reasons.
While the Twenty-First Amendment lifted the nationwide ban on alcohol, it did not explicitly address the regulation of alcohol sales, manufacture, and transportation. Instead, Section 2 of the amendment implies that individual states are responsible for creating and enforcing these regulations. This interpretation has been the subject of several Supreme Court decisions, with certain states arguing for their authority to regulate the transportation of alcoholic beverages under the Commerce Clause and the Dormant Commerce Clause.
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Public sentiment
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919, prohibited the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcohol in the country. The amendment was the result of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that banning the sale of alcohol would eliminate poverty and other societal issues such as immoral sexual behaviour and violence.
The Anti-Saloon League (ASL), founded in 1893, played a significant role in the temperance movement. They campaigned to ban the sale of alcohol at the state level, claiming that prohibition would inspire new forms of sociability, create happier families, reduce workplace accidents, and improve the world. Other groups, such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, also worked towards banning the sale, manufacture, and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
Despite the initial decline in alcohol consumption after the amendment, consumption soon rose again with the emergence of dangerous "rotgut" alcohol produced by underworld entrepreneurs. The rate of alcohol abuse remained lower during Prohibition, but new categories of crimes related to the production and distribution of alcohol emerged. Those who continued to consume alcohol turned to organised criminal syndicates, and alcohol smuggling ("rum-running" or "bootlegging") and illicit bars ("speakeasies") became prevalent.
The increasing influence of criminal organisations allowed them to bribe businesses, political leaders, and police departments, further hindering the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment. By the 1930s, public sentiment had flipped, and Congress was compelled to act. On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed a new amendment to end Prohibition, which was ratified on December 5, 1933, as the Twenty-first Amendment. This amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and modified the Volstead Act to permit the sale of beer.
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Frequently asked questions
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. It prohibited the sale, manufacture, distribution, and transportation of alcohol in the country.
The Eighteenth Amendment was passed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified on January 16, 1919. It was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933.
Public sentiment turned against Prohibition by the late 1920s, and the Great Depression hastened its demise as opponents argued that the ban on alcohol denied jobs to the unemployed. The efforts of the nonpartisan Association Against the Prohibition Amendment (AAPA) also added to public disillusionment.
