18TH AMENDMENT RATIFIED BY NECESSARY MAJORITY OF STATES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 16, 1919, the 18th amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the necessary two-thirds majority of the states of the Union.
The 18th amendment, the first to set a 'time delay' before going into effect, prohibited "the manufacture, sale and transport of intoxicating liquors." It would go into effect on January 17, 1920.
According to the National Constitution Center, the passage of the amendment was due to the work of the national temperance movement. The Center states than negative effects of 'prohibition'* include strengthening of organized crime and disrespect for the law.
Mark H. Moore of the New York Times argues, on the other hand, that positive outcomes of 'prohibition' are a decline in alcohol consumption, lower death rates from cirrhosis in males and fewer arrests for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
A 1991 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that while alcohol consumption decreased during the early years of prohibition, it "increased sharply" during the "next several years."
*Prohibition (1920-1933) had its roots in the American Temperance Society (1826) which served as the foundation for subsequent groups such as the National Prohibition Party (1869) & the Women's Christian Temperance Union (1873). The idea was supported by most religious organizations but especially by protestant groups.
SOURCES
"Alcohol Consumption During Prohibition," by Jeffrey A. Miron and Jeffrey Zwiebel, National Bureau of Economic Research, April 1991, www.nber.org/
"Prohibition of Liquor, 18th Amendment," National Constitution Center, www.constitutioncenter.org/
