Amendment XVIII

Amendment XVIII
“After one year from the ratification of this article 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 is hereby prohibited.
The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Section 1 states that the sale, import, export, and producing of drinking alcohol is prohibited in the US.
Section 2 states that Congress and the States must also have laws to enforce prohibition.
Section 3 states that in order to become an amendment it has to be ratified within seven years from submission.

This amendment was brought on by the phenomena of the need for wholesome morals during the Victorian Era, when Christian organizations were prevalent. Many of these group believed that alcohol consumption was the cause of all the evil in the country (alcoholism probably was an issue during this time), and set out on a crusade to rid the country of it. I think this law failed miserably because of the law enforcement’s lack of actually enforcing the law. As a result of this amendment, mob and other illegal activity thrived as a result of bootlegging. This was an amendment that was virtually pointless, because not too many people followed it, rather big, illegal money was made which brought more violence and disruption into the community…way to go Congress!


This video is a short documentary on Prohibition and its impact on the country. It gives an accurate depiction of the rise of bootlegging and crime among organized criminals and how the surge of violence led to the repeal of the 18th Amendment. It was very informative and short.

This is a commercial from the 1920s demonizing alcohol and therefore supporting Prohibition. It is interesting to see how something that is such a common aspect of life today was seen in such a negative light, enough to outlaw it in the constitution. It was often the nature of society to warn against the dangers that may affect young, white, wealthy girls in advertising. The one thing that is mentioned is that alcohol could ruin the lives of little girls—by innocent little girls they meant white little girls.