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Repeal of Prohibition: 21st Amendment

Background and Passage of the Eighteenth Amendment

The Eighteenth Amendment, ratified in 1919, marked the triumph of the temperance movement after a century of activism. The Anti-Saloon League and Protestant women were key drivers, motivated by alcohol's negative impacts on families.

Temperance advocates initially aimed for moderation but eventually pushed for full prohibition. By the 1830s, the American Temperance Society had over 200,000 members.

Women, lacking basic rights and protections, were often most affected by male relatives' alcohol abuse. The Anti-Saloon League gained significant support in the late 1800s. World War I grain shortages temporarily imposed prohibition under patriotic pretenses.

The Volstead Act, passed in 1919 despite President Wilson's veto, outlawed beverages over 0.5 percent alcohol. This strict interpretation dashed hopes that beer or wine might remain legal.

Key Consequences of Prohibition:

  • Widespread non-compliance
  • Illegal speakeasies
  • Booming black market for alcohol
  • Law enforcement struggles against public defiance
  • Criminal enterprises profiting from bootlegging

While Prohibition initially reduced alcohol consumption, its negative consequences soon outweighed any benefits. Crime syndicates merged alcohol trade with violence and corruption. The "noble experiment" was increasingly seen as a major mistake.1

A group of women from the Temperance Movement protesting outside a saloon in the early 1900s

Challenges and Consequences of Prohibition

Prohibition's ideals clashed with American reality, spawning lawlessness and an underground economy. Bootleggers, gangsters, and everyday citizens created a parallel world of illicit alcohol.

Law enforcement, under-resourced and overwhelmed, struggled to contain the widespread defiance. Speakeasies flourished just beyond authorities' reach, serving high-priced liquor to elite patrons.

Organized crime exploited Prohibition, with figures like Al Capone building empires on illegal alcohol. The black market became a vast economic system, stretching from backroom distilleries to hidden cellars in wealthy homes. Criminal syndicates amassed huge profits, often protected by bribery and violence.

Economic Impact of Prohibition:

  • Closure of breweries, distilleries, and bars
  • Job losses across multiple industries
  • Farmers lost markets for their grains
  • Reduced demand in textile, construction, and transportation sectors

The human cost included thousands of deaths from tainted moonshine. Speakeasy culture rose as a rejection of moralistic legislation. Widespread law-breaking eroded respect for authority and fostered mistrust in government.

"The noble experiment had exposed the limitations of top-down control and highlighted the importance of laws aligned with societal realities."
The interior of a dimly lit 1920s speakeasy with patrons drinking and socializing

The Road to Repeal: The Twenty-First Amendment

By the 1930s, public sentiment had turned against Prohibition. The moral justification had eroded as organized crime flourished and law enforcement struggled. Americans questioned sacrificing personal freedoms for moral puritanism.

The Great Depression amplified calls for repeal. Economic hardship demanded practical solutions, not idealistic endeavors. Farmers and industrial workers saw potential jobs and markets in a revived alcohol industry.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1932 campaign platform advocated repealing the Eighteenth Amendment. His victory signaled broader societal rejection of Prohibition.

Repeal Process:

  1. Repeal advocates used state ratifying conventions
  2. Congress passed a resolution proposing the Twenty-First Amendment in February 1933
  3. Roosevelt's administration fast-tracked the process
  4. Cullen-Harrison Act legalized low-alcohol beverages as a precursor
  5. State conventions quickly ratified the amendment
  6. Prohibition officially repealed on December 5, 1933

This process demonstrated the power of public will and the ability of governance to adapt to societal realities.

The Twenty-First Amendment became a testament to recalibrating liberty, showing that pragmatism must sometimes prevail over idealism in the American system.2

Franklin D. Roosevelt giving a campaign speech advocating for the repeal of Prohibition

Legal and Constitutional Implications of the Twenty-First Amendment

The Twenty-First Amendment granted states substantial authority over alcohol regulation, creating a complex interplay with other constitutional provisions. Section 2 explicitly allowed states to regulate or prohibit the transportation and importation of intoxicating liquors within their jurisdictions, as long as such regulations adhered to nonprotectionist principles.

This state-level regulatory power soon collided with the Constitution's Commerce Clause. Initially, the Supreme Court took an expansive view of the Twenty-First Amendment, interpreting it as a shield for states against certain Commerce Clause challenges. However, this latitude gradually tightened as jurisprudence evolved.

By the latter half of the twentieth century, the Supreme Court signaled a more nuanced stance, emphasizing that the Twenty-First Amendment didn't grant unlimited power to override other constitutional provisions. In Granholm v. Heald, the Court held that states couldn't discriminate against out-of-state alcohol vendors in favor of their in-state counterparts1.

The Twenty-First Amendment's interaction with other constitutional provisions adds further complexity:

  • First Amendment's Free Speech Clause
  • First Amendment's Establishment Clause
  • Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause
  • Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause

The Court has enforced that while states may regulate alcohol, these regulations are circumscribed by fundamental constitutional rights.

Ultimately, the Twenty-First Amendment embodies an instance where the Constitution's pragmatism meets sovereign decentralization. States enjoy regulatory command, but must steer their authority through constitutional jurisprudence.

Long-Term Effects and Modern-Day Relevance

The Twenty-First Amendment fostered an enduring transformation in American society and its regulatory framework. It cemented a fragmented yet dynamic alcohol regulatory environment, empowering states with autonomy to craft their own liquor laws.

Post-repeal, a mosaic of localized regulations took shape, reflecting America's array of cultural, religious, and social norms. Some states embraced liberal alcohol laws, while others imposed stringent controls. The liquor industry adapted to handle this patchwork landscape.

Economic Impact

The repeal led to a resurgence of the American brewing and distilling industries. Small, regional craft breweries and distilleries blossomed, culminating in today's craft beer and artisan spirits markets. This proliferation reinvigorated state economies and fostered artisanal craftsmanship.

Influence on Drug Policy

The Twenty-First Amendment's legacy extends into modern discussions on drug prohibition and criminal justice reform. The lessons from Prohibition's failure have echoed into the ongoing War on Drugs. Like Prohibition, aggressive drug laws have led to:

  • Rise of illicit markets
  • Systemic corruption
  • Mass incarceration

Repeal advocates' arguments inform today's push for more sophisticated approaches to drug policy and criminal justice. Legal scholars and public policy experts argue for regulated markets and decriminalization measures akin to the post-repeal regulation of alcohol2.

"In contemporary discourse, invoking the Twenty-First Amendment's spirit has become a rallying cry for federally coordinated, state-sensitive adaptations to current vice regulationโ€”whether it's marijuana legalization, the opioid crisis, or evolving notions of criminal justice."

The Twenty-First Amendment serves as a reminder that laws must align with societal realities and respect personal freedoms. It underscores the importance of pragmatic governance over ideological rigidity, ensuring that the American spirit of liberty remains resilient.