For the first time in American history, an amendment was added to the Constitution that cancelled out a previous amendment. The law prohibiting the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcohol was repealed after being in force for 13 years. Prohibition had proven to be unpopular, costly and detrimental to society as a whole, and many celebrated its end.
The Temperance Movement
Religious figures and temperance advocates had pushed for a national ban on alcohol for many years. By the early 20th century, groups such as rural Methodists and Baptists, feminists from the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, and urban Progressives lobbied the federal government for a constitutional amendment prohibiting alcohol. Their efforts led to ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919.
Under the new law, any drink containing over 0.5 percent alcohol was prohibited in the U.S. This ushered in the era of Prohibition. Critics called the law a "noble experiment," while many predicted that soon Americans would not remember alcohol. However Prohibition, a crowning achievement of Progressivism, proved extremely unpopular.
The Lawless 1920s
Almost immediately, hardware stores began selling portable stills and secret, illegal bars called "speakeasies" began opening. Within one year, bootleggers were thriving on the illegal alcohol market and people were making their own homemade beer and bathtub gin. Prohibition spawned a new era of lawlessness and mayhem.
By 1923, about 5,000 speakeasies operated in New York City alone. Nightclubs evolved from the old cabarets. The smuggling of alcohol and the homemade brew was not subject to health inspection. Consequently in 1926 alone, about 2,000 people died from poisoned alcohol. Meanwhile within six years the illegal liquor trade had generated an estimated $3.5 billion. Corruption among law enforcement ran rampant as many police officers either participated in the illegal activity or were paid off to allow it to continue.
The Clamor for Repeal
Many who had initially championed Prohibition now began calling for it to end. Testifying before Congress, witnesses claimed that the law caused an increase in crime and insanity. Seven million people signed petitions denouncing Prohibition and its "evil" effects.
Soon politicians began openly denouncing Prohibition and refusing to enforce the law. As the 1930s began and the U.S. entered the Great Depression, many Americans eager for any kind of relief began protesting Prohibition. In May 1932, "We Want Beer" marches were held in several major cities.
By the early 1930s, it was clear that drinking had increased under Prohibition. The speakeasy had replaced the saloon, and a new group of lawbreakers who had otherwise been upstanding citizens emerged. Many openly showed blatant disrespect for the law and crime in the U.S. reached unprecedented levels.
Ending Prohibition
In January 1933, Congress legalized beer that was 3.2 percent alcohol. However this did not appease those who wanted full repeal, and it was clear that a constitutional amendment would be needed to end Prohibition. In February, Congress introduced the Twenty-First Amendment, repealing the Eighteenth and ending Prohibition.
The Constitution can be amended by either a vote of three-fourths of state legislatures, or a three-fourths vote of special state conventions. Because many feared that the temperance lobby in various states would reject repeal, it was decided to ratify the amendment through special state conventions. This marked the first and only time that state conventions were used to ratify a constitutional amendment.
On December 5, 1933, the state conventions approved the Twenty-First Amendment, thus repealing Prohibition. This is one of only two amendments that prohibit private conduct; the other (the Thirteenth) prohibits persons from enslaving others. It is also the only amendment that was expressly ratified to repeal an existing amendment.
Many celebrated the end of an oppressive era, as Prohibition had proved to be a well-intentioned attempt to control individual behavior that brought harmful, albeit mostly unintended, consequences.
Sources
- Schweikart, Larry and Allen, Michael: A Patriot’s History of the United States (New York, NY: Penguin Group, Inc., 2004)
- Wallechinsky, David and Wallace, Irving: The People’s Almanac (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1975)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
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