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The Volstead act or Prohibition act took effect in 1920. In several states across America laws were currently in place to try to halt the intake of alcohol. These laws were in effect prior to the 18th amendment (Volstead act, Prohibition act) was passed before congress. New York was the first state to have such laws passed in 1697. This law simply stated that saloons and drinking establishments have to close on Sunday. Sunday for many religions is supposed to be regarded as a day of rest and prayer and not drinking. In Georgia in the year 1735, the government passed its First state wide ban on alcohol. The ban endured only 7 years and was an utter failure. In 1851, they tried yet again to instill a prohibition on alcohol in Maine, this time it worked even better than they had hoped. By 1855, twelve other states joined Maine in becoming a "dry state." Right after the Civil War in 1880, the women joined the "dries". It was not long before the temperance movement was a force to be reckoned with. The conservative Woman's Christian Temperance Union, WCTU, was formed and the Prohibition Party began gaining steam. By 1900, more than 50% of the continental U . S . was dry. The prohibitionists assumed they had the alcohol ban locked up and there wasn't any possible way for any person to acquire alcohol in a dry state. Regrettably for the dries, the United States Postal Service unintentionally furnished a loophole. Since the USPS was managed by the United States government rather than the state government, alcohol could be purchased and shipped by a wet state. This enraged the dries. In 1913, an Interstate Liquor Act was approved. This act effectively made it illegal for any individual to send liquor to any dry state in anyway. The results was really a step backwards for the people attempting to keep liquor out as it gave rise to much more illegal ways of getting the alcohol because liquor distilleries were now in league with organized crime. In 1917, the 18th amendment was drafted making it illegal to purchase, send or manufacture liquor. This did not sit well for lots of states. The amendment was argued in congress for an additional 24 months. In 1920 Thirty three states had declared themselves dry and this meant a big victory for the prohibition party. January 29, 1919. The 18th Amendment was ratified making all hard liquor having an alcohol content in excess of 80 proof (40%) be prohibited. Officially, it banned the making, sales, or transporting of these alcoholic drinks. It was backed by many people because they thought that only hard liquor was to be banned and that it would be okay to have a glass of wine with dinner or have a beer in the evening. Even so, it wasn't until 12 months later, the Volstead Act (prohibition act) was approved. The Volstead Act totally banned all alcohol that had over 1 proof (1/2%) of alcohol. This essentially banned all styles of alcoholic beverages, except for non-alcoholic beers. When the 18th amendment was ratified, the Volstead Act was brought into the light by Prohibition supporters. For almost all of the prohibition supporters who only wanted a little wine or the occasional beer believed they had been betrayed because they were left with nothing at all when the act was passed. One group that nobody thought of were the veterans of World War 1. These soldiers felt very betrayed returning home from fighting in the war. The majority had been stationed in France and came to know how a reasonable amount of alcohol could add to the quality of life. Returning home and learning that the dries had won an absolute victory over alcohol added to the bitterness of the veterans disdain. The fatal error with prohibition was to ban all types of alcohol. 80 percent of the Prohibition Party followers got out of the party. Prohibition survived for 13 years in the US until in 1933 the 21st amendment was passed to officially end the ban on alcohol. Want to find out more about making whiskey? Take a look at How To make Whiskey HQ. There you will locate mash recipes, equipment info and detailed step by step instructions for how to make whiskey.
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Prohibition, whiskey, alcohol, law, Volstead,
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