Eighteenth Amendment
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919, established nationwide prohibition of alcohol, taking effect on January 16, 1920. This amendment was a culmination of the temperance movement, which gained significant traction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly among women advocating for social reform. The Supreme Court played a pivotal role in solidifying the amendment's legitimacy through various rulings, such as Crane v. Campbell, which determined that personal possession of alcohol was not a protected constitutional right, and Hawke v. Smith, which affirmed the amendment's ratification process against a popular referendum. The legal framework for enforcing prohibition was further strengthened by the National Prohibition Cases, where the Court upheld the amendment's constitutionality and the method of state ratification. Despite its initial support, the Eighteenth Amendment faced widespread opposition and challenges over the years. Ultimately, it was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933, marking the end of constitutional prohibition in the United States. This historical episode highlights the complexities of legislating morality and the interplay between public sentiment and legal frameworks.
Eighteenth Amendment
Date: 1919
Description: Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Prohibition amendment, that prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating beverages.
Significance: Constitutional prohibition of alcoholic beverages lasted from 1920 to 1933. Supreme Court decisions from 1917 to 1920 supported the prohibition cause and defended the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on January 16, 1919, and went into effect on January 16, 1920. The Supreme Court’s decisions in such cases as Crane v. Campbell (1917), Hawke v. Smith (1920), and the National Prohibition Cases(1920) strengthened the basis for and strongly endorsed the amendment.
In Crane, the Court supported national prohibition by ruling that possessing alcohol for personal use was not a constitutional right. In Hawke, the Court upheld the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment by the Ohio General Assembly over the referendum by Ohio voters who rejected the amendment. According to the Court, when Congress requested that a constitutional amendment be ratified by state legislatures, it neither authorized nor permitted a referendum. In the National Prohibition Cases, the Court completed the process of making national prohibition part of the law of the United States. In these cases, the justices upheld the constitutionality of the Eighteenth Amendment and approved the method by which the state legislatures had ratified it.
On December 5, 1933, the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. This amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and ended constitutional prohibition of alcoholic beverages.