Woodrow Wilson and the Volstead Act
Did anyone watch any or all of the Ken Burns 3-part documentary Prohibition? I bring it up because today, October 28th, is the 92nd anniversary of the Volstead Act, which brought about prohibition, above the veto of President Woodrow Wilson. That event took place on October 28, 1919. Prohibition was put into the 18th Amendment of the Constitution.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, sale, and transport of "intoxicating liquors", but did not define "intoxicating liquors". It granted both the federal government and the states the power to enforce the ban by "appropriate legislation."
The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, who was opposed to it not because he was a lush, but because it also covered wartime prohibition. Wilson's veto was overridden by the House on the same day, October 28, 1919, and by the Senate one day later.
The three purposes of the Act were:
(1) to prohibit intoxicating beverages,
(2) to regulate the manufacture, sale, or transport of intoxicating liquor (but not consumption), and
(3) to allow the supply of alcohol in scientific research and in the development of fuel, dye and other lawful industries and practices, such as religious rituals.
The amendment read that "no person shall manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, or furnish any intoxicating liquor except as authorized by this act." It did not specifically prohibit the use or consumption of intoxicating liquors. The act defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol by volume. That definition was to override all existing prohibition laws in effect in states that had such legislation.
Prohibition lost support as alcohol gained increasing social acceptance and as prohibition led to disrespect for the law and the growth of organized crime. By 1933, public opposition to prohibition had become overwhelming. In January of that year, Congress sought a compromise with the Cullen-Harrison Act which legalized "3.2 beer" (i.e., beer 3.2% alcohol by weight or 4% by volume), and wines of similarly low alcohol content, rather than the 0.5% limit defined by the original Volstead Act.
Congress passed the Blaine Act, a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition, on February 17, 1933. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, rendered the Volstead Act unconstitutional, and restored control of alcohol to the states.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, sale, and transport of "intoxicating liquors", but did not define "intoxicating liquors". It granted both the federal government and the states the power to enforce the ban by "appropriate legislation."
The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, who was opposed to it not because he was a lush, but because it also covered wartime prohibition. Wilson's veto was overridden by the House on the same day, October 28, 1919, and by the Senate one day later.
The three purposes of the Act were:
(1) to prohibit intoxicating beverages,
(2) to regulate the manufacture, sale, or transport of intoxicating liquor (but not consumption), and
(3) to allow the supply of alcohol in scientific research and in the development of fuel, dye and other lawful industries and practices, such as religious rituals.
The amendment read that "no person shall manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, or furnish any intoxicating liquor except as authorized by this act." It did not specifically prohibit the use or consumption of intoxicating liquors. The act defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing more than 0.5% alcohol by volume. That definition was to override all existing prohibition laws in effect in states that had such legislation.
Prohibition lost support as alcohol gained increasing social acceptance and as prohibition led to disrespect for the law and the growth of organized crime. By 1933, public opposition to prohibition had become overwhelming. In January of that year, Congress sought a compromise with the Cullen-Harrison Act which legalized "3.2 beer" (i.e., beer 3.2% alcohol by weight or 4% by volume), and wines of similarly low alcohol content, rather than the 0.5% limit defined by the original Volstead Act.
Congress passed the Blaine Act, a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition, on February 17, 1933. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, rendered the Volstead Act unconstitutional, and restored control of alcohol to the states.