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HISTORY OF ALCOHOL IN 1920'S

The 1920's presents a birds eye view of the temperance movement in the United States which more probably than not would have not succeeded anywhere else in the world.

Looking over our shoulder to the "late Colonial Era" or as we have described it as the "early Modern Era", Colonists adhered to the traditional belief that distilled spirits were aqua vitae, (and for those of you who never experienced classes in Latin which were required when I was in high school, (post Colonial Era), that little Latin blurb means, "water of life". However, rum was not commonly available until after 1650, when it was imported from the Caribbean. The cost of rum dropped after the colonists began importing molasses and cane sugar directly and distilled their own. By 1657, a rum distillery was operating in Boston. It was highly successful and within a generation, the production of rum became colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry. Almost every important town from Massachusetts to the Carolinas had a run distillery to meet the local demand, which had increased dramatically.

Here we go mixing religion and alcohol. I guess it works if you run out of soda water. Alcohol was viewed positively while its abuse was condemned. The common view in a sermon against drunkenness:"Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan; the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the Devil." I guess that guy (Mather d. 1723) could pick the lottery number as well.

It was not long before alcohol was responsible for all social ills. To rid the United States of the Devil, temperance movements lobbied congress to prohibit the possession of the Devil's brew, alcohol. Another editorial note: Most of the several states of the United States have banned smoking in public places, air planes, restaurants and the like, however, while in Washington, DC, apparently the pols didn't want to give up their smoke so I guess like alcohol some things are prohibited from the masses but kept for the elite. Yes you can smoke in a restaurant in Washington, DC or at least at the bar.

I found a very through paper written by Catherine H. Poholek, (1998) about the 1920' and the Volstead Act. It is worth mentioning here.

Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve (Thorton, 15). On midnight of January 16, 1920, one of the personal habits and customs of most Americans suddenly came to a halt. (I wonder how Congress passed this act, particularly in Washington ?) The Eighteenth Amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) was put into effect and all importing, exporting, transporting, selling, and manufacturing of intoxicating liquor was put to an end. (Ed. Note: notice the act did not prhobibit consumtion. . .) The National Prohibition Act, so called, was also know as the Volstead Act, named after is sponsor, Andrew J. Volstead. This act prohibited any beverage that contained more than 0.5 percent of alcohol. The act permitted alcohol (EtOH) for use for medicinal and sacramental purposes. The organized churches obviously were in favor of the Act since the male counterparts of families rather than attending church were praying to their favorite beverage at the local tavern which was open during church services. So, the Act closed the taverns and drove the parishioner to the donation plate. Also, after the Volstead Act was repealed, the church lobbied for state laws to prohibit the sale of alcohol on Sunday until Noon local time. Obviously, all church services were completed by Noon.

The Volstead Act, which reinforced the prohibition of alcohol in the United States of America was popularly named after Andrews Volstead, Supra, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversaw its passage, however, Volstead although serving as the legislation's sponsor was only the facilitator rather than its author. It was the Anti-Saloon League's Wayne Wheeler who conceived and drafted the bill.

The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson (largely on technical grounds, because it also covered wartime prohibition) (remember the 1st World War raged until the Armistice in 1918). but the president's veto was overridden by Congress on the same day, October 28, 1919. Oddly enough reading the Act, it did not prohibit the use of intoxicating liquors.

The effects of Prohibition, as it was known, were largely unanticipated. Production, importation and distribution of alcoholic beverages - once the province of legitimate business - were taken over by criminal gangs, which fought each other for control which involved confrontations, including mass murder. Top gangsters became rich and were admired locally such as Omaha's Tom Dennison, and Chicago's Al Capone.

The national government not to be outdone by the bootleggers were not big backers of the Act. The government suffered since no tax was being derived from the sale of illegal liquor imported from Canada or made locally in stills located in the southern part of the U.S. along the Appalachian corridor. This alcohol was named moonshine. Enforcement was difficult because the gangs became so rich that they were often able to bribe underpaid and understaffed law-enforcement personnel and hire top lawyers. Many citizens were sympathetic to bootleggers and respectable citizens were lured to the romance of illegal speakeasies, so called "blind pigs". The loosening of social mores during the 1920's included popularizing the cocktail and cocktail partys among higher socio-economic groups. Groups inclined to assist authorities were often intimidated, even murdered. In several major cities-notably those with serve major points of liquor importation, including Chicago and Detroit - gangs wielded effective political power. A Michigan State Police raid on Detroit's (German) Deutsches Haus netted the mayor, the sheriff and the local congressman.

Prohibition lost advocates as alcohol gained increasing social acceptance and as the effects of prohibition and disrespect for law and the growth of organized crime became apparent, By 1933, public opposition to prohibition had become overwhelming. In January of that year, Congress sought to per-empt opposition with the Cullen-Harrison Act, which legalized "3.2 beer", that the 0.5% limit defined by the original Volstead Act but the Cullen-Harrison Act was insufficient.

Congress proposed an amendment to repeat Prohibition (the Baine Act) in February and, on December 5, 1933 -- when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment--the Twent-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, making the Volstead Act unconstitutional, and restored control of alcohol to the states, until the creation of the Federal Alcohol Administration in 1935.