Presidential Vetoes: Woodrow Wilson and the Volstead Act
Today, October 28th, is the 96th anniversary of the Volstead Act, which brought about prohibition, above the veto of President Woodrow Wilson. Prohibition came about on October 28, 1919 when Congress overrode Wilson's veto.
Prohibition came about as the result of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.This Amendment 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 Volstead Act was some of that "appropriate legislation".
The three purposes of the Volstead Act (named for Andrew Volstead, a Republican Congressman from Minnesota and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) were:
(1) to prohibit the sale or possession of 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.
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. According to Wilson biographer John Milton Cooper, the veto was issued three weeks after Wilson had suffered a severe stroke (on October 2nd). The veto message was written by Wilson's chief of staff (or "personal secretary" as he was called), Joseph Patrick Tumulty and there is some question as to whether or not Wilson knew about the veto. Edith Wilson, who was serving as Wilson's gatekeeper, read the veto message and approved of its release. However, as Cooper notes, this was certainly consistent with Wilson's previous stated position as an opponent of Prohibition.
Wilson's veto was overridden by the House on the same day, October 27, 1919, and by the Senate one day later on October 28th.
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.
A good examination of the subject of Prohibition can be found in the Ken Burns 3-part documentary appropriately named Prohibition.
Prohibition came about as the result of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.This Amendment 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 Volstead Act was some of that "appropriate legislation".
The three purposes of the Volstead Act (named for Andrew Volstead, a Republican Congressman from Minnesota and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) were:
(1) to prohibit the sale or possession of 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.
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. According to Wilson biographer John Milton Cooper, the veto was issued three weeks after Wilson had suffered a severe stroke (on October 2nd). The veto message was written by Wilson's chief of staff (or "personal secretary" as he was called), Joseph Patrick Tumulty and there is some question as to whether or not Wilson knew about the veto. Edith Wilson, who was serving as Wilson's gatekeeper, read the veto message and approved of its release. However, as Cooper notes, this was certainly consistent with Wilson's previous stated position as an opponent of Prohibition.
Wilson's veto was overridden by the House on the same day, October 27, 1919, and by the Senate one day later on October 28th.
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.
A good examination of the subject of Prohibition can be found in the Ken Burns 3-part documentary appropriately named Prohibition.