Noah Vinter
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol, was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919. The amendment was the culmination of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that alcohol was the root cause of most personal and social problems and that prohibition would improve society. The National Prohibition Act, commonly known as the Volstead Act, was passed in 1919 to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment and defined the procedures for banning the distribution of alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment, ratified in 1933, eventually repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and put an end to Prohibition.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the Act | Eighteenth Amendment, also known as the Prohibition Amendment |
| Year Passed | 1919 |
| Date Prohibition Started | January 17, 1920 |
| Year Repealed | 1933 |
| Enabling Legislation | Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act |
| Purpose | To ban the production, transportation, and sale of alcohol |
| Exemptions | Religious use of wine, private ownership and consumption, use of alcohol by industries |
| Impact | Rise of organised crime, bootlegging, and speakeasies |
| Opposition | Wets, including liturgical Protestants and Catholics |
| Supporters | Dries, including Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, and Scandinavian Lutherans |
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What You'll Learn
The Eighteenth Amendment
The Volstead Act, named after Minnesota representative Andrew Volstead, defined the procedures for enforcing Prohibition and the types of alcoholic beverages that were prohibited. It declared that liquor, wine, and beer qualified as intoxicating liquors and were therefore banned. The act also made it illegal to "manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, furnish, or possess" such beverages.
However, by the late 1920s, public sentiment turned against Prohibition. Opponents argued that it lowered tax revenue, particularly during the Great Depression, and imposed "rural" religious values on "urban" areas. The rise of organised crime, bootlegging, and speakeasies also contributed to the amendment's demise. In 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt ran on a platform that included repealing the Eighteenth Amendment, and after his victory, Congress proposed the Twenty-first Amendment, which officially ended Prohibition in 1933.
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The National Prohibition Act
The act was passed by the 66th United States Congress on October 28, 1919, and went into effect on January 16, 1920. It consisted of three main sections: the previously enacted War Time Prohibition, Prohibition as designated by the Eighteenth Amendment, and industrial alcohol use. The act defined intoxicating beverages as containing greater than 0.5 percent alcohol and set out fines and jail sentences for the manufacture, sale, and movement of such beverages.
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The Volstead Act
The Eighteenth 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. The amendment did not ban the consumption of alcohol but prohibited its sale, manufacture, and distribution. The Volstead Act provided the rules and enforcement for the federal ban, defining prohibited alcoholic beverages as liquor, wine, and beer, or intoxicating liquors.
- Previously enacted War Prohibition, which conserved grain by prohibiting its use in spirits production.
- Prohibition as designated by the Eighteenth Amendment, which defined "intoxicating beverages" as containing more than 0.5% alcohol.
- Industrial alcohol use, which allowed alcohol for industrial purposes.
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The Twenty-first Amendment
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol, was ratified on January 16, 1919, and came into effect on January 17, 1920. The amendment was the culmination of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that a ban on alcohol would curb societal issues such as poverty, crime, and violence. The amendment was enforced through the Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act, which defined an intoxicating beverage as anything containing more than 0.5% alcohol.
Public sentiment eventually turned against Prohibition, particularly during the Great Depression, as opponents argued that the ban on alcohol denied jobs to the unemployed and revenue to the government. The Eighteenth Amendment was also difficult to enforce, with citizens finding ways to continue drinking through bootlegging, speakeasies, and religious exemptions. By 1932, polls showed that most Americans believed Prohibition had failed, and the repeal of Prohibition became a campaign theme for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election.
On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed 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, officially ending Prohibition at the federal level. However, it is worth noting that Prohibition-era laws persisted at the state level in some places for decades after the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, with Mississippi being the last state to lift its Prohibition laws in 1966.
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The Anti-Saloon League
The ASL's main objective was to ban the sale of alcohol, arguing that prohibition would bring about significant social benefits. They believed that eliminating alcohol would reduce poverty, improve moral behaviour, reduce violence, and create happier families. To achieve their goals, the ASL employed various strategies, including speeches, advertisements, and public demonstrations. They lobbied at all levels of government, pressuring legislators to support prohibition laws. The league also used emotion-based tactics, appealing to patriotism and anti-German sentiment during World War I to gain support for their cause.
One of the key figures in the ASL was Wayne Wheeler, who played a significant role in introducing the legislation that became the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act. The act, passed in 1919, defined the procedures for banning the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol. The ASL's efforts were successful, and the Eighteenth Amendment, which declared the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors illegal, was ratified in 1919, with prohibition going into effect on January 17, 1920.
However, by the late 1920s, public sentiment turned against prohibition. Opponents argued that the ban on alcohol denied jobs, reduced tax revenue, and imposed rural religious values on urban areas. The Great Depression further hastened the demise of prohibition, and in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidential campaign included a plan to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment. The Twenty-first Amendment, adopted in 1933, repealed the ban and modified the Volstead Act to permit the sale of beer.
After the repeal of Prohibition, the Anti-Saloon League merged into the National Temperance League, continuing its efforts to address addiction and alcohol problems. Over the years, the group underwent several name changes, and in 2016, it rebranded as the American Council on Addiction and Alcohol Problems (ACAAP), headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Frequently asked questions
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as the Prohibition Amendment, banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol.
The Eighteenth Amendment was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917 and ratified in 1919. The nationwide ban on alcohol, known as Prohibition, took effect on January 17, 1920.
The Eighteenth Amendment was the result of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that banning alcohol would reduce poverty and societal problems such as crime and violence. The amendment was supported by religious groups, who identified saloons as politically corrupt and drinking as a personal sin.
