The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the
66th United States Congress
The 66th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1919, to ...
designed to execute the
18th Amendment (ratified January 1919) which established the
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
of
alcoholic drink
Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...
s. The
Anti-Saloon League's
Wayne Wheeler conceived and drafted the bill, which was named after
Andrew Volstead, chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation.
Historical context
The Volstead Act had a number of contributing factors that led to its ratification in 1919. For example, the formation of the Anti-Saloon League in 1893.
The league used the after effects of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
to push for national prohibition because there was a lot of prejudice and suspicion of foreigners following the war. Many reformers used the war to get measures passed and a major example of this was national prohibition.
The league was successful in getting many states to ban alcohol prior to 1917 by claiming that to drink was to be pro-German and this had the intended results because many of the major breweries at the time had German names.
Additionally, many saloons were immigrant-dominated which further supported the narrative that the
Anti-Saloon League was pushing for. Another factor that led to the passage of the Volstead Act was the idea that in order to feed the allied nations there was a greater need for the grain that was being used to make whiskey. Prohibitionists also argued that the manufacture and transportation of liquor was taking away from the needed resources that were already scarce going into WWI. They argued that Congress would have conserved food and coal much earlier had not liquor interests been placed above public welfare. This led to the War Time Prohibition Act in 1918. The case for wartime prohibition was strong and the prohibitionists could use their early successes under the necessities of mobilization to make the change permanent through a constitutional amendment in 1919.
Passage of the Volstead Act
H.R. 6810, was the full name given to the National Prohibition Act, which in short meant, "An act to prohibit intoxicating beverages, and to regulate the manufacture, production, and sale of high-proof spirits for other than beverage purposes, and to ensure an ample supply of alcohol and promote its use in scientific research and in the development of fuel, dye, and other lawful industries."
Prohibition was originally proposed by a man by the name of
Richmond Hobson, and the proposition was brought to Congress as an amendment to the Constitution.
Later, attorney
Wayne Wheeler proposed the first version of the bill, which Congress amended many times. President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
vetoed the bill, Congress overrode his veto, and the bill went through on October 28, 1919.
The Volstead Act went into play on January 16, 1920, where it became a challenge for the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
to navigate through. The Volstead Act was presented to help promote the togetherness of federal and state legislation in regulating alcohol.
Content of the Volstead Act
The Volstead Act consisted of three main sections: (1) previously enacted war Prohibition, (2) Prohibition as designated by the Eighteenth Amendment, and (3) industrial alcohol use.
Before the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment, th
War Time Prohibition Actwas approved on November 21, 1918. This was passed to conserve grain by prohibiting its usage in the production of spirits. Title II of the Volstead Act, "Permanent National Prohibition," which was defined as "intoxicating beverages" containing greater than 0.5 percent alcohol.
This section also set forth the fines and jail sentences for the manufacture, sale and movement of alcoholic beverages, as well as set forth regulations that described those who would enforce the laws, what search and seizure powers law enforcement had or did not have, as well as how adjunction of violations would be in place, among many others. Despite these strict laws on alcohol commerce, there were numerous ways in which the possession and personal use of alcohol remained legal under the Volstead Act.
It was in fact legal to own alcoholic beverages that were obtained before the Prohibition, as well as serve these types of drinks to family or guests in the home with proof of purchase on hand. This allowed numerous individuals, specifically those who were wealthy to stockpile these beverages before Prohibition. Alcohol that was used for medical purposes remained legal under the Volstead Act. Physicians were limited on what they could prescribe their patients. They were allowed one pint of spirits every ten days, a restriction the American Medical Associate opposed for being inadequate.
Pastors, priests, ministers, rabbis and others who practiced religious actions could acquire a permit to provide alcohol for sacramental purposes only. Alcohol for any industrial purposes were allowed in Title III of the Volstead Act, titled "Industrial Purposes."
Enforcement and impact
The production, importation, and distribution of alcoholic beverages—once the province of legitimate business—was taken over by criminal gangs, which fought each other for market control in violent confrontations, including murder. Major
gangsters, such as
Omaha
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
's
Tom Dennison and
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel Capone ( ; ; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American organized crime, gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-foun ...
, became rich, and were admired locally and nationally. Enforcement was difficult because the gangs became so rich that they were often able to bribe underpaid and understaffed law-enforcement personnel, and afford expensive lawyers. Many citizens were sympathetic to
bootleggers, and respectable citizens were lured by the romance of illegal
speakeasies, also called "
blind tigers." The loosening of social mores during the 1920s included popularizing the
cocktail
A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...
and the
cocktail party among higher
socioeconomic groups. Those inclined to help authorities were often intimidated and even murdered. In several major cities—notably those that served as major points of liquor importation, including Chicago and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
—gangs wielded significant political power. A
Michigan State Police
The Michigan State Police (MSP) is the State police (United States), state police agency for the U.S. state of Michigan. The MSP is a full-service law enforcement agency, with its sworn members having full police powers statewide.
The department ...
raid on Detroit's Deutsches Haus once netted the mayor, the sheriff, and the local congressman.
Prohibition came into force at 12:00:01 am on January 17, 1920, and the first documented infringement of the Volstead Act occurred in Chicago on January 17 at 12:59 am. According to police reports, six armed men stole $100,000 worth of "medicinal" whiskey from two freight-train cars. This trend in bootlegging liquor created a domino effect among criminals across the United States. Some gang leaders had been stashing liquor months before the Volstead Act was enforced. The ability to sustain a lucrative business in bootlegging liquor was largely helped by the minimal police surveillance at the time. There were only 134 agents designated by the Prohibition Unit to cover all of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
Iowa
Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, and parts of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. According to Charles C. Fitzmorris, Chicago's chief of police during the beginning of the Prohibition period, "Sixty percent of my police
erein the bootleg business."
Section 29 of the Act allowed 200 gallons (the equivalent of about 1000 750-ml bottles) of "non-intoxicating cider and fruit juice" to be made each year at home.
[ p. 2]
Chapter 1
Initially "intoxicating" was defined as exceeding 0.5% alcohol by volume, but the
Bureau of Internal Revenue struck that down in 1920, effectively legalizing home winemaking.
For beer, however, the 0.5% limit remained until 1933. Some vineyards embraced the sale of grapes for making wine at home.
Zinfandel grapes were popular among home winemakers living near vineyards, but their tight bunches left their thin skins vulnerable to rot from rubbing and abrasion on the long journey to East Coast markets.
[Pinney p. 26.] The thick skins of
Alicante Bouschet were less susceptible to rot, so that and similar varieties were widely planted for the home winemaking market.
[H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' p. 444. Simon and Schuster 1989 .]
The Act contained a number of exceptions and exemptions. Many of them were used to evade the law's intended purpose. For example, the Act allowed a
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
to prescribe whiskey for his patients but limited the amount that could be prescribed. Subsequently, the House of Delegates of the
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...
voted to submit to Congress a bill to remove the limit on the amount of whiskey that could be prescribed and questioned the ability of a legislature to determine the therapeutic value of any substance.
Vine-Glo was produced ostensibly to let people make grape juice from concentrate but it included a warning on its packaging telling people how to make wine from it.
According to Neely, "The Act called for trials for anyone charged with an alcohol-related offense, and juries often failed to convict. Under the state of New York's
Mullan–
Gage Act, a short-lived local version of the Volstead Act, the first 4,000 arrests led to just six convictions and not one jail sentence".
While the production, transport and sale of intoxicating liquor was illegal, their purchase was ruled legal in ''
United States v. Norris''.
Repeal
Prohibition lost support because ignoring the law gained increasing social acceptance and
organized crime
Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
violence increased. By 1933, public opposition to prohibition had become overwhelming. In March of that year, Congress passed the
Cullen–Harrison Act, which legalized "
3.2 beer" (i.e. beer containing 3.2% alcohol by weight or 4% by volume) and wines of similarly low alcohol content, rather than the 0.5% limit defined by the original Volstead Act.
In February 1933, Congress passed the
Blaine Act, a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the
Eighteenth Amendment to end prohibition. On December 5, 1933,
Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
became the 36th state to ratify the
Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, voiding the Volstead Act and restoring control of alcohol to the states.
All states either made alcohol legal, or passed control over alcohol production and consumption to the counties and provinces they comprise. That led to the creation of
dry counties
In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties no ...
, most of which are in
the South.
See also
*
Prohibition in the United States
The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...
*
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...
*
Medicinal Liquor Prescriptions Act of 1933
*
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970
The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, , is a United States federal law that, with subsequent modifications, requires the pharmaceutical industry to maintain physical security and strict record keeping for certain typ ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act) in MNopedia, the Minnesota Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volstead Act
Prohibition in the United States
Repealed United States legislation
United States federal criminal legislation
1919 in law
1919 in American law
66th United States Congress