The Eighteenth Amendment brought national Prohibition to the United States. Ratified on January 16, 1919, it banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes. It is the only constitutional amendment that has been repealed, undone by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933. Its rise and fall are a case study in how constitutional change works, and in the limits of trying to enforce a moral rule through criminal law.
The Text of the Eighteenth Amendment
The amendment has three sections. The first prohibits "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes." The second gives Congress and the states "concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." The third is a ratification deadline: the amendment would be inoperative unless ratified by the states within seven years. That was the first time an amendment included a time limit for ratification.
The Background
Prohibition grew out of a long temperance movement. By the early twentieth century, many states and localities had already gone dry, and advocates argued that alcohol caused poverty, crime, and family breakdown. Congress proposed the amendment in 1917, and the states ratified it in 1919. It took effect one year after ratification, in January 1920.
The Volstead Act
The amendment banned "intoxicating liquors" but did not define the term. Congress supplied the definition in the National Prohibition Act, commonly called the Volstead Act, passed in 1919 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing at least one-half of one percent alcohol by volume, and it set up the enforcement machinery. That definition swept in beer and wine that many people did not consider intoxicating, which fueled opposition.
How Prohibition Worked in Practice
Prohibition did reduce reported alcohol consumption in its early years, but it also created a large illegal market. Speakeasies, bootlegging, and home distilling spread. Organized crime grew around the supply of illegal alcohol, and violent disputes over territory became common. Enforcement was uneven. Federal agents had limited resources, many states and cities were reluctant to cooperate, and juries sometimes refused to convict. The costs of enforcement fell heavily on the federal government at a time when it had few tools to police a nationwide ban.
- Illegal production and smuggling expanded rather than disappeared.
- Criminal organizations gained money and power from the black market.
- Respect for the law suffered where the ban was widely ignored.
- Enforcement and prison costs rose.
The Twenty-first Amendment
By the early 1930s, support for Prohibition had eroded, especially during the Great Depression, when legal alcohol sales promised tax revenue and jobs. Congress proposed the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933, and the states ratified it on December 5, 1933. Section 1 repeals the Eighteenth Amendment. Section 2 gives the states power to regulate the transportation and importation of alcohol within their borders, which is why alcohol rules still vary from state to state.
| Eighteenth Amendment | Twenty-first Amendment | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratified | January 16, 1919 | December 5, 1933 |
| Effect | Banned intoxicating liquor | Repealed the ban |
| Enforcement | Volstead Act | State and federal regulation |
| Status today | Repealed | In force |
Ratification by Convention
The Twenty-first Amendment was also the only amendment ratified by state conventions rather than state legislatures. Congress chose that method because it wanted the question decided by delegates elected for the purpose. The choice shows that Article V offers two paths for ratification, and that the path can affect how quickly and how directly the public weighs in.
After Repeal
Repeal did not make alcohol law uniform. The Twenty-first Amendment left states broad authority to regulate alcohol, and some states remained dry for decades. Mississippi, the last statewide holdout, ended its prohibition in 1966. Today, states and localities set rules on licensing, sales hours, and local option bans, and the federal government still regulates alcohol through tax and trade laws.
Enforcement and the Courts
The Supreme Court upheld the Volstead Act and the amendment's framework in the National Prohibition Cases, 253 U.S. 350 (1920). The decisions confirmed that Congress and the states shared enforcement power under the amendment's second section. That concurrent power produced friction. Federal and state authorities sometimes disagreed about priorities, and states that had never supported Prohibition were slow to pass their own enforcement laws. The amendment also raised hard questions about searches, seizures, and the limits of federal police power, questions that shaped criminal procedure for decades.
The Wartime Roots
Prohibition did not arrive in peacetime isolation. Congress proposed the amendment in 1917, as the United States entered World War I. Wartime rationing and the need to conserve grain gave the temperance movement a practical argument, and anti-German sentiment during the war turned many voters against the German-American brewing industry. Those forces helped the amendment pass, and they show how a constitutional change can ride on events that have little to do with its stated purpose.
Common Misconceptions
- That the amendment banned all alcohol. It banned manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, and exportation for beverage purposes. Possession and consumption were not prohibited by the amendment itself.
- That repeal ended all alcohol restrictions. The Twenty-first Amendment gave states broad control, and dry counties and towns still exist.
- That the amendment was struck down by a court. It was repealed by another amendment, not invalidated by a judicial ruling.
What the Eighteenth Amendment Teaches
The amendment is often cited as a warning about enforcing private conduct through criminal law. It also shows the Constitution's capacity to correct itself. The amendment process allowed the country to reverse a national policy, and the repeal amendment added a structural rule, state control over alcohol, that still shapes the law. For anyone studying constitutional law, the Eighteenth and Twenty-first Amendments together illustrate both how amendments are made and how they can be unmade.
This guide is general information about the law and is not legal advice. Alcohol regulation varies by state and locality, and anyone with a specific legal question should consult a licensed attorney.