On this day in 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It repealed the 18th Amendment and thus legalized the sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to repeal a prior amendment.
The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution had ushered in a period known as Prohibition, during which the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal. The enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 was the crowning achievement of the temperance movement, but it soon proved highly unpopular. Crime rates soared under Prohibition as gangsters, such as Chicago’s Al Capone, became rich from a profitable, often violent, black market for alcohol. The federal government was incapable of stemming the tide: enforcement of the Volstead Act proved to be a nearly impossible task and corruption was rife among law enforcement agencies.
The end of prohibition was thought to be responsible for the creation of a half million jobs. States were allowed to regulate alcohol within their borders. Mississippi was the last state to remain entirely dry. In August 1966, 19 of Mississippi’s counties voted to legalize alcohol. Kansas continued to prohibit public bars until 1987.
KRAMPUS….
Today is the birthday, in 1945, of Eddie Serrato, drummer with ? & The Mysterians, who had the 1966 US No. 1 & UK No.37 single ’96 Tears’. The song later became a hit for The Stranglers in 1990. Serrato died from a heart attack on February 24, 2011, aged 65. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7uC5m-IRns
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