A resolution calling for an
amendment
to accomplish nationwide Prohibition was introduced in Congress and
passed by both houses in December 1917. By January 16, 1919, the
Amendment had been ratified by thirty-six of the forty-eight states. On
October 28, 1919, the amendment was implemented by the Volstead Act.
Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment
went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police)
were given the task of enforcing the law.
Although it was highly controversial, Prohibition was widely
supported by diverse groups. Progressives believed that it would improve
society as generally did women, southerners, those living in rural
areas and African-Americans. There were a few exceptions such as the
Woman’s Organization for Prohibition Reform who fought against it.
Will Rogers
often joked about the southern pro-prohibitionists: "The South is dry
and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough to stagger to the
polls." Supporters of the Amendment soon became quite confident that it
would not be repealed, to the point that one of its creators, Senator
Morris Sheppard,
joked that "there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth
Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with
the Washington Monument tied to its tail."
At the same time, songs emerged decrying the act; after
Edward, Prince of Wales, returned to
Britain following his 1919 tour of
Canada, he recounted to his father,
King George V, a ditty he'd heard at a border town:
| “ |
Four and twenty Yankees, feeling very dry,
Went across the border to get a drink of rye.
When the rye was opened, the Yanks began to sing,
"God bless America, but God save the King!"
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” |
The issue of Prohibition became a highly controversial one among
medical professionals, because alcohol was widely prescribed by
physicians of the era for therapeutic purposes. Congress held hearings
on the medicinal value of beer in 1921. Subsequently, physicians across
the country lobbied for the repeal of Prohibition as it applied to
medicinal liquors.
While the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol was illegal in
the U.S., Section 29 of the Volstead Act allowed the making at home of
wine and cider from fruit (but not beer). Up to 200 gallons per year
could be made, and some
vineyards grew grapes for home use. Also, one anomaly of the Act as worded was that it did not actually prohibit the
consumption
of alcohol; many people actually stockpiled wines and liquors for their
own use in the latter part of 1919 before sales of alcohol became
illegal the following January.
Alcoholic drinks were not always illegal in all neighboring countries. Distilleries and breweries in
Canada,
Mexico, and the
Caribbean flourished as their products were either consumed by visiting Americans or illegally imported to the U.S. The
Detroit River, which forms part of the border with Canada, was
notoriously difficult to control.
Chicago became a haven for Prohibition dodgers during the time known as the
Roaring Twenties. Many of Chicago's most notorious gangsters, including
Al Capone and his enemy
Bugs Moran, made millions of dollars through illegal alcohol sales. By the end of the decade Capone controlled all 10,000
speakeasies in Chicago and ruled the
bootlegging business from Canada to
Florida.
Numerous other crimes, including theft and murder, were directly linked
to criminal activities in Chicago and elsewhere in violation of
prohibition.
(...)
As Prohibition became increasingly unpopular, especially in the big
cities, "Repeal" was eagerly anticipated. On March 23, 1933, President
Franklin Roosevelt signed an amendment to the Volstead Act known as the
Cullen-Harrison Act,
allowing the manufacture and sale of "3.2 beer" (3.2% alcohol by
weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines. The
original Volstead Act had defined "intoxicating beverage" as one with
greater than 0.5% alcohol.
Upon signing the amendment, Roosevelt made his famous remark; "I think this would be a good time for a beer."
The Cullen-Harrison Act became law on April 7, 1933, and on April 8, 1933,
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. sent a team of
Clydesdale horses to deliver a case of Budweiser to the
White House. The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed on December 5, 1933 with ratification of the
Twenty-first Amendment. Despite the efforts of
Heber J. Grant and the
LDS Church, a
Utah convention helped ratify the 21st Amendment.
While Utah can be considered the deciding 36th state to ratify the
Amendment and make it law, the day Utah approved the Amendment, both
Pennsylvania and
Ohio approved it as well.
One of the main reasons why enforcement of prohibition did not
proceed smoothly was the inefficient means of enforcing the laws set
forth by the 18th amendment. From its very inception, the law lacked
legitimacy in the eyes of the public who had previously been drinkers
and yet completely law-abiding citizens. The public in some instances
viewed the laws as being “arbitrary and unnecessary” and therefore were
willing to breach them. Consequently, law enforcements agents who had
not been bribed to turn a blind eye, found themselves overwhelmed by the
dramatic rise in the illegal distribution of alcohol on such a wide
scale due to the Volstead Act. The scale of the task was not anticipated
and consequently the necessary resources to pursue it were not
allocated. Additionally, enforcement of the 18th amendment lacked
centralized authority and many attempts to impose prohibitionist laws
were deterred due to the lack of transparency between federal and state
authorities. Furthermore, the reality of American geography contributed
significantly to the difficulties in enforcing prohibition. The terrain
of valleys, mountains, lakes and swamps as well as the extensive
seaways, ports and massive borders running along Canada and Mexico made
it exceedingly difficult for prohibition agents to stop bootleggers
given their lack of resources. Ultimately it was recognized with its
repeal that the means by which the law was to be enforced was not
pragmatic, and that in many cases the legislature did not match the
general public opinion.
Prohibition was a major blow for the alcohol industry and repeal was
therefore a step toward the amelioration of one sector of the economy. A
perfect example for this is the case of St. Louis. The city had been
one of the most important alcohol producers before prohibition started
and was ready to take back its position as soon as possible. Its major
brewery had "50,000 barrels" of beer ready to be sent since March 22. It
was the first alcohol producer to refill the market, but others
followed. This slowly allowed stores to obtain alcohol after, of course,
having obtained a license. The restart of beer production allowed
thousands of workers to find jobs again.
Prohibition created a
black market that competed with the formal economy, which already was under pressure.
Roosevelt was elected based on the
New Deal,
which promised improvement to the economy that was only possible if the
formal economy competed successfully against various economic forces,
including the effects of prohibition's black market. This influenced his
support for ratifying the 21st amendment, which repealed the 18th
amendment that had established prohibition.
The Twenty-first Amendment explicitly confirms the right of states to
restrict or ban the purchase or sale of alcohol. This led to a
patchwork of laws in which alcohol may be legally sold in some but not
all towns or counties within a particular state. After repeal of the
18th amendment, some states continued to enforce prohibition laws.
Mississippi, which had made alcohol illegal in 1907, was the last state to repeal Prohibition in 1966.
Kansas
did not allow sale of liquor "by the drink" (on-premises) until 1987.
To the present day, there are still numerous "dry" counties and towns in
America that restrict or prohibit liquor sales.
Additionally, many tribal governments prohibit alcohol on
Indian reservations. Federal law also prohibits alcohol on Indian reservations,
although this law is currently only enforced if there is a concomitant violation of local tribal liquor laws.
The federal law prohibiting alcohol in Indian country pre-dates the
Eighteenth Amendment. No constitutional changes were necessary prior to
the passage of this law, as
Indian Reservations and
federal territories have always been considered areas of direct federal jurisdiction.
At the end of Prohibition, some supporters openly admitted its failure. A letter written in 1932 by
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., states:
When Prohibition was introduced, I hoped that it would be widely
supported by public opinion and the day would soon come when the evil
effects of alcohol would be recognized. I have slowly and reluctantly
come to believe that this has not been the result. Instead, drinking has
generally increased; the speakeasy has replaced the saloon; a vast army
of lawbreakers has appeared; many of our best citizens have openly
ignored Prohibition; respect for the law has been greatly lessened; and
crime has increased to a level never seen before.
(...)
Organized crime received a major boost from Prohibition.
Mafia groups limited their activities to prostitution, gambling, and theft until 1920, when organized
bootlegging manifested in response to the effect of Prohibition.
A profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol flourished.
Powerful gangs corrupted law enforcement agencies, leading to
racketeering. In essence prohibition provided a financial basis for organized crime to flourish.
Rather than reducing crime it seemed prohibition had transformed the
cities into battlegrounds between opposing bootlegging gangs. In a study
of over 30 major U.S cities during the prohibition years of 1920 and
1921, the number of crimes increased by 24%. Additionally, theft and
burglaries increased by 9%, homicide by 12.7%, assaults and battery rose
by 13%, drug addiction by 44.6% and police department costs rose by
11.4%. It has been speculated
that this was largely the result of “black-market violence” as well as
law enforcing resources having been diverted elsewhere. Despite the
beliefs of the prohibitionist movement that by outlawing alcohol crime
would surely be reduced, the reality was that the Volstead Act led to
worse social conditions than were experienced prior to prohibition as
demonstrated by more lethal forms of alcohol, increased crime rates, and
the establishment of a black market dominated by criminal
organizations.
