MISfortunes
TiH: Congress Passes the Volstead Act (28 Oct 1919)
The Volstead Act, formally known as the National Prohibition Act, established prohibition in the US despite President Woodrow Wilson's veto of the bill. The 18th Amendment, prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," had been ratified by the necessary 2/3 state majority in January 1919, but the amendment was essentially toothless because it did not define "intoxicating liquors" or establish penalties for violating the amendment. The Volstead Act remedied that. But because the 18th Amendment did not go into effect until midnight on 17 January 1920, people had plenty of time to stash the forbidden liquor. According to Wikipedia, "Prohibition came into force at midnight on January 17, 1920, and the first documented infringement of the Volstead Act occurred in Chicago on January 17 at 12:59 a.m."
Well then!
As organized crime violence in relation to Prohibition increased and the popularity of the amendment waned, Congress backed down. The Blaine Act, a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the 18th Amendment, was ratified by the necessary 36th state (Utah!) on 5 December 1933 and Prohibition came to an end. The 21st Amendment, repealing Prohibition, gave control of alcohol back to the states on that day.
For those interested, the amendments that fell in between the 18th and 21st:
Amendment 19 – Voting Rights for Men and Women (ratified 18 Aug 1920) Amendment 20 – Terms of the President and Congress; Replacing the President (ratified 23 Jan 1933)
The 20th Amendment was almost put to the test immediately; on 15 February 1933 President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was the subject of an unsuccessful assassination attempt by Giuseppe Zangara. If the attempt had been successful, Vice President-elect Garner would have become president on March 4.





That was the smartest thing the US gov ever did!
/sarc