Noah Vinter
Alcohol became illegal in the United States with the Eighteenth Amendment, which came into effect on January 17, 1920, though some sources state January 16 or 19. The amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, but not its consumption or possession. The law gave rise to bootlegging, speakeasies, and organised crime, and it is argued that it did not result in a significant or lasting drop in alcohol consumption. On March 22, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Cullen–Harrison Act, legalising beer and wine with a low alcohol content, and on December 5, 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date alcohol became legal in the US | 22 March 1933 |
| Act that made it legal | Cullen–Harrison Act |
| Who signed the Act into law | President Franklin Roosevelt |
| Amendment that repealed the Eighteenth Amendment | Twenty-first Amendment |
| Date Prohibition began | 16 January 1920 or 17 January 1920 or 19 January 1920 |
| Act that enforced Prohibition | Volstead Act |
| Date the Volstead Act was passed | 28 October 1919 |
| Date the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified | 16 January 1919 or 18 January 1919 |
| Act that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of greater than 1.28% | Wartime Prohibition Act |
| Date the Wartime Prohibition Act was passed | 18 November 1918 or 21 November 1918 |
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What You'll Learn
The Eighteenth Amendment
To define the language used in the amendment, Congress enacted enabling legislation called the National Prohibition Act, better known as the Volstead Act, on October 28, 1919. The Volstead Act set the starting date for nationwide prohibition as January 17, 1920, the earliest date allowed by the Eighteenth Amendment. The Act specifically prohibited the use of alcohol for "beverage purposes," but allowed other uses such as industrial, sacramental, or medicinal purposes.
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The Cullen-Harrison Act
Alcohol became legal in the United States on December 5, 1933, with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and marked the end of the Prohibition era.
The Eighteenth Amendment, which had been ratified on January 16, 1919, and went into effect on January 17, 1920, had made the manufacture, importation, sale, and transport of alcohol illegal in the United States. This led to a thriving black market, with bootleggers, speakeasies, and organised crime syndicates coordinating the complex chain of operations involved in the illegal alcohol industry.
The Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act were part of the temperance movement, which aimed to eliminate alcohol from American life. However, the Amendment ultimately failed to achieve this goal, as people found loopholes in the law or turned to illegal avenues to obtain alcohol. The Prohibition era also had negative economic impacts, eliminating jobs from what had been the fifth-largest industry in America, and led to widespread corruption in law enforcement as criminal organisations used bribery to keep officials in their pockets.
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Bootlegging and speakeasies
The Eighteenth Amendment, which came into force on January 17, 1920, banned the manufacture, importation, sale, and transport of alcohol in the United States. However, this didn't stop Americans from drinking. Instead, it pushed the consumption of alcohol underground, leading to the emergence of bootlegging and speakeasies.
Bootlegging
Bootlegging refers to the illegal production and sale of liquor. With the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, "bootleggers" emerged as groups that smuggled alcohol into the country or distilled their own. One of the most prominent bootleggers was Chicago attorney George Remus, who left his law practice to pursue the economic opportunities presented by Prohibition. Remus set up a pharmaceutical business and bought several whiskey distilleries, ostensibly to use their stocks of liquor for medicinal purposes, which was legal under the Volstead Act. In reality, he diverted the liquor to the bootlegging trade, earning tens of millions of dollars.
Another source of supply for bootleggers was the millions of bottles of "medicinal" whiskey sold across drugstore counters on real or forged prescriptions. Various American industries were also permitted to use denatured alcohol for production purposes, and millions of gallons of this were illegally diverted, "washed" of noxious chemicals, and sold to speakeasies or individual customers. By the late 1920s, bootleggers were also bottling their own concoctions of spurious liquor, and stills making liquor from corn (moonshine) had become major suppliers.
Speakeasies
Speakeasies were illegal, secretive drinking establishments that sprang up in cities across the United States during Prohibition. These private, unlicensed barrooms were often located in the back rooms of seemingly upstanding establishments, and they gained their nickname from how low customers had to speak the "password" to gain entry so as not to be overheard by law enforcement. By 1925, there were thousands of speakeasy clubs operating out of New York City alone, and one estimate says that for every legitimate bar that closed during Prohibition, six speakeasies opened in its place.
Speakeasies were often associated with organised crime, and their proliferation led to the rise of criminal gangs and violent turf battles. Corruption in law enforcement also became widespread, as criminal organisations used bribery to keep officials in their pockets.
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The Volstead Act
- Previously enacted war prohibition, which aimed to conserve grain by prohibiting its use in the production of spirits.
- Prohibition as designated by the 18th Amendment, which defined intoxicating beverages" as those containing more than 0.5% alcohol.
- Industrial alcohol use, which allowed alcohol to be used for industrial, sacramental, or medicinal purposes.
While the Volstead Act prohibited the use of alcohol for "beverage purposes," it did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol. People found creative ways to continue drinking, such as stockpiling alcohol before the act went into effect, carrying hip flasks and hollowed canes, and taking advantage of loopholes that allowed pharmacists to prescribe whiskey for medicinal purposes.
The act also had unintended consequences, such as the rise of bootlegging (the illegal production and sale of liquor) and speakeasies (illegal drinking establishments), which were controlled by organized crime syndicates. The period of Prohibition in the United States is often remembered as a time of increased violence and gangsterism due to the competition between criminal gangs for control of the illegal alcohol market.
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Prohibition's unintended consequences
The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcohol, went into effect on January 16, 1920, and was repealed on December 5, 1933, with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. While the intention behind prohibition was to reduce alcohol consumption and improve society's health and welfare, the policy had several unintended consequences.
One of the most significant unintended consequences was the rise of organized crime and the creation of a lucrative black market for alcohol. Almost immediately after prohibition began, a network of illegal bars, known as "speakeasies," sprang up across the country, supplying prohibited alcohol to those willing to break the law. Criminal enterprises quickly realized the enormous profit potential in the illegal alcohol trade and began producing and distributing liquor, often with little regard for public health and safety. This led to the rise of powerful organized crime syndicates, such as the Italian-American Mafia, which dominated the illicit alcohol trade and used violence and corruption to protect their interests.
Another consequence was the negative impact on public health and safety. The illegal production and distribution of alcohol during prohibition were often unregulated and unsafe. Many people consumed contaminated or poisoned alcohol, leading to illness and death. Moreover, the criminal nature of the trade led to increased violence and lawlessness, as gangs competed for control of the lucrative market and sought to eliminate competitors. This period saw a significant rise in homicide rates and other violent crimes associated with the illegal alcohol trade.
Prohibition also led to a significant loss of tax revenue for the government. Before prohibition, alcohol taxes provided a substantial portion of the federal government's income. With the ban on alcohol sales, the government not only lost this revenue stream but also had to incur the costs of enforcing the prohibition laws. The economic impact extended beyond the government, as the alcohol industry, including brewers, distillers, and distributors, suffered significant losses, leading to job cuts and financial hardship for those employed in the industry.
Lastly, prohibition had a notable impact on social and cultural norms. It led to a shift in drinking habits, with many people turning to alternative, often more dangerous, substances, such as opium, cocaine, and illegal drugs. The prohibition era also saw a rise in private, hidden consumption, as people drank secretly in their homes or in speakeasies, changing the social nature of drinking and socializing. The policy's failure and its unintended consequences played a significant role in shaping modern drug policy, with policymakers recognizing the importance of regulation and control rather than outright prohibition.
In conclusion, while the intention behind prohibition was to create a healthier and safer society, the policy's unintended consequences were far-reaching and significant. It led to the rise of organized crime, negatively impacted public health and safety, resulted in financial losses for the government and the alcohol industry, and altered social and cultural norms. The failure of prohibition served as an important lesson in the challenges and limitations of attempting to regulate personal behavior through legal prohibition.
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Frequently asked questions
Alcohol became illegal in the US on January 17, 1920, under the Eighteenth Amendment.
The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified in the hopes of eliminating alcohol from American life. It banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol.
No. The amendment did not result in a significant or lasting drop in alcohol consumption. People found loopholes in the newly passed anti-liquor laws, and when that didn't work, they turned to illegal avenues.
Alcohol was made legal again in the US in 1933, with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.
The Twenty-first Amendment was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 22, 1933, as the Cullen–Harrison Act. It legalised beer and wine with a low alcohol content.
