The 21st Amendment: The Only Amendment That Repealed Another

One of the final victories of the Progressive Era was the passage of the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution. Today, however, this amendment is hardly hailed as a victory. Unlike the groundbreaking 19th Amendment that granted women’s suffrage, which was passed the same year, the 18th Amendment is now a cautionary tale. In 1920, the Temperance Movement in the United States finally got a strong majority of Congress and the state legislatures to ban the sale of alcohol. This created the era known as Prohibition, which lasted until 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment. Why did Prohibition end? How could something so strongly supported in 1920 be so strongly reviled in just 13 years?

Today, many people scoff at the concept of Prohibition during the 1920s. Given contemporary norms, it seems outrageous to think that the federal government needed to ban alcohol. However, the move to ban alcohol was not as outlandish in the early 1900s. Consumption of alcohol actually peaked in 1830 and was much higher than today. Much of this was likely influenced by the fact that alcohol was cheaper and safer than most other beverages; the distilling process killed harmful microbes. Culturally, alcohol was very important for social gatherings, and there was little understanding of alcoholism and addiction; people who drank too much were simply considered poor of character.

With relatively few other taxes compared to today, alcohol was an important source of tax revenue. Distilling whiskey was also highly regarded and even the career of a post-Revolutionary War George Washington. As less medical knowledge existed in the 1800s, alcohol was even regularly considered a de facto medicine. For all social classes, alcohol was embedded in daily life in a way not experienced today. This could lead to frequent problems of overindulgence, and public drunkenness was not uncommon.

Setting the Stage: The Temperance Movement

Although their intensity decreased somewhat after the Second Great Awakening, temperance societies resurged after the American Civil War. Wartime whiskey rations for soldiers concerned many that the government supported alcohol consumption, and alcoholism by soldiers during the war was common. Alcohol sales were often limited after the war to prevent over-imbibing by returning soldiers, who could commit horrible acts while intoxicated. Back then, there was little medical or psychological knowledge of conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), so self-medicating with alcohol was not abnormal.

The Progressive Era of the 1890s to 1920 was a significant boost to the overall Temperance Movement. Millions of Americans felt that the government should be active in trying to improve the lives of the downtrodden, including immigrants and children. As the Progressive Era enveloped the nation, it helped the Temperance Movement become nationwide rather than regional to the South and West. People became more accepting of the idea that the government should limit people’s actions for the good of others. Americans were also now more sensitive to the plight of women and children, who were often the targets of abuse when men over-imbibed on alcohol.

As women’s political voice expanded during the Progressive Era and the pursuit of women’s suffrage, it increased the power of the Temperance Movement. Women were driving figures in the movement, with some—like Carrie Nation—even smashing saloons. Many Progressive reformers adopted women’s arguments that alcohol weakened the fibers that bound society together and led to physical abuse. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was the largest women’s organization in the world and influenced the Progressive Era and had considerable political influence.

1919: Eighteenth Amendment Passes

While many cities and states had passed pro-Temperance laws by the 1910s, a nationwide law regulating alcohol had not yet been passed despite the popularity of Progressivism. World War I, however, helped put the Temperance Movement over the top in terms of political power. Progressives argued that alcohol consumption was harmful for the war effort and maintaining national unity during a time of conflict. Many even criticized beer as German, and thus anti-American. On December 18, 1917, eight months after the United States joined the war, Congress passed the 18th Amendment to ban the consumption of alcohol.

Immediately after the amendment was passed by two-thirds of both chambers of Congress, US President Woodrow Wilson began making executive orders that limited the resources available for alcohol. As the 18th Amendment went to the states for ratification, Wilson also passed an executive order in September 1918 banning the production of beer. Thus, states were incentivized to ratify the amendment; alcohol was being limited anyway due to the increased executive powers granted by war. On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment was ratified by the 38th necessary state, banning alcohol manufacture and sale across the country.

Constitutional amendments guide and limit federal laws; a law was needed to define the bold but ambiguous language in the 18th Amendment. For example, what was meant by “intoxicating liquors”? Why was there no mention of consumption, as opposed to manufacture, sale, and transportation? Controversially, the federal law passed by Congress to define and enforce the 18th Amendment was stricter than many legislators had anticipated. The Volstead Act was vetoed by president Woodrow Wilson, but Congress overrode the veto.

The Volstead Act banned all alcohol, not just hard liquor as many original supporters of the proposed 18th Amendment had assumed. Ironically, the 18th Amendment included a one-year delay for implementation, meaning Prohibition would not begin until 1920…just as Progressive fervor began to wane. As government power decreased overall in the victorious aftermath of World War I, Prohibition created a massive new law enforcement and regulatory complex. Quickly, Americans consumed alcohol as the clock toward 1920 wound down.

Problems With Prohibition

Progressives hoped that Prohibition would improve Americans’ health, reduce drunkenness and abuse, and cause a decrease in crime. Unfortunately, crime increased as Americans tried to continue their alcohol consumption. This led to illegal bars, illegal manufacture of alcohol, and illegal transportation of alcohol—each with its own new vocabulary and subculture. Illegal bars, known as speakeasies, could become dens of crime as they were hidden from law enforcement. This likely increased violence as criminals in speakeasies knew that police would not be summoned.

Illegal alcohol stills created moonshine in rural areas, and illegal transportation networks were created to run alcohol to speakeasies. On America’s roads, stock car racing was born out of the need for bootleggers to build and drive fast cars that could outrun law enforcement. Fast boats were used by rumrunners to smuggle in foreign-made alcohol that was parked in ships in international waters. Organized crime grew rapidly to take advantage of the need for planning and networking to process Americans’ continued demand for alcohol. The Mafia, colloquially known as “the Mob,” eagerly ran alcohol in America’s big cities.

The high profits won from controlling illegal alcohol in big cities quickly led to turf wars among organized criminal gangs. Gangs would form alliances for protection and to intimidate rivals. Crime in the United States increased significantly. While many Americans initially romanticized speakeasies, bootleggers, moonshiners, and rumrunners, their crimes came to overwhelm local and state law enforcement. Innocent civilians could be caught up in their violence. By the late 1920s, many citizens were growing weary of Prohibition.

On February 14, 1929, organized crime had its bloodiest chapter to date. In Chicago, four gangsters impersonating police officers intercepted seven gangsters from a rival operation. The seven accosted men, believing they were being arrested by police, voluntarily lined up against a wall. Instead of being arrested, the seven were gunned down by Thompson submachine guns, colloquially known as “Tommy” guns. Americans were shocked by the slaughter, and many felt that Prohibition was the cause of the violence.

Early 1930s: The Great Depression and Prohibition

The shock of the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was followed a year later by a rapidly eroding US economy. As the Great Depression resulted in mass unemployment and plummeting tax revenues, many Americans questioned the wisdom of continuing to spend money on enforcing Prohibition. Courts were overwhelmed by Prohibition-related charges, leading to the birth of common plea bargains. The Depression made many citizens feel that Prohibition was a waste of resources, especially as alcohol was one of the things many folks with money would still pay for.

Quickly, many began advocating for a repeal of Prohibition on economic grounds. The sale of alcohol could be taxed, raising desperately-needed revenue for government services like social welfare. Before Prohibition, excise taxes on the production of alcohol had been a major revenue source for states. The economic boom of the Roaring Twenties had prevented states from feeling the pinch, but those days were over. Anti-Prohibition protesters argued that consumers might be willing to spend more if they could get alcoholic beverages at restaurants and other venues. Prohibition was accused of essentially locking up the flow of spending from people who still had money.

In 1932, voters were ready for a change in leadership. Incumbent US President Herbert Hoover, a laissez-faire Republican, was widely unpopular due to his lack of support for direct aid to the unemployed. His rival, an economic liberal Democrat named Franklin D. Roosevelt, promised a New Deal for the American people. This included his support for abolishing the 18th Amendment and repealing Prohibition. However, since Prohibition was created by a constitutional amendment, it could only be repealed by the same.

Landslide victories for Democrats across the United States in November 1932 created legislatures across the country that would ratify a new amendment overturning the 18th. President Roosevelt and a new crop of Democratic legislators entered office in the spring of 1933—too slow for many Americans desperately awaiting aid. Quickly, the Volstead Act was amended to re-allow beer in April. On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, creating “Repeal Day.” Millions of Americans eagerly returned to purchasing alcohol legally, and spirits rose as FDR implemented his promised New Deal.

Legacy: It’s Better to Tax Than to Ban

The spirit of the 21st Amendment is often referenced today in regard to another intoxicant: marijuana. In recent years, more US states have decriminalized or outright legalized the growth, sale, and consumption of (small amounts) of marijuana. Similar to arguments in the early 1930s, many proponents of legalized marijuana argue that states can raise revenue from excise taxes on the substance. As of 2024, twenty-four US states and Washington DC have legalized marijuana.

Since the first state legalized medical marijuana in 1996, proponents of marijuana have occasionally called for a constitutional amendment to make legalization uniform across US states and territories. They point to the tax revenue benefits of legalization, which include $4 billion generated in 2023. However, due to the difficulty of passing a constitutional amendment, and with the last one being passed in the early 1990s, it is unlikely to see one about marijuana legalization anytime soon. Marijuana legalization will likely remain a state-by-state issue for the next few decades, at least.