Which president lifted prohibition

That afternoon, Pennsylvania and Ohio gave their assents, but the identity of the thirty-sixth state that approved the 21st Amendment and drove the final spike into Prohibition was an unlikely one—Utah. For the first time in American history, a Constitutional amendment had been repealed. These two anti-prohibition buttons reflect the sentiments of many who opposed the ban on the sale of alcohol from David J.

Moments later, in a low-key event held under the blaze of motion-picture Klieg lights, Under Secretary of State William Phillips thrust his pen into an inkstand and inscribed his signature to certify the passage of the 21st Amendment. An hour later, with little pomp and circumstance, President Franklin D.

Delivery truck engines purred as they left liquor warehouses. Cities reported that arrests for drunkenness were no different than those during a normal weekend night during Prohibition. Why the surprisingly sedate celebration after the nearly year alcoholic drought? Mississippi, the last state to repeal its prohibition laws, remained legally dry until Photos: Prohibition and the Speakeasies of New York in Contact us at letters time. History politics A Toast to the End of Prohibition.

Bartenders at Sloppy Joe's in Chicago bar pour a round of drinks on the house for a large group of smiling customers as it was announced that the 18th Amendment had been repealed. By Jennifer Latson. Related Stories. Already a print subscriber? Go here to link your subscription. The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, the legal measure that included the instructions for enforcing Prohibition, never barred the consumption of alcohol--just making it, selling it, and shipping it for mass production and consumption.

The Cullen-Harrison Act, signed about 10 months before the 21st Amendment was ratified, allowed people to drink low-alcohol content beer and wine. Incoming President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the Volstead Act amended in April to allow people to have a beer, or two, while they waited for the 21st Amendment to be ratified.

The first team of Budweiser Clydesdales was sent to the White House to give President Roosevelt a ceremonial case of beer.