190px|thumb|The Twenty-first Amendment in the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]]

The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide prohibition on alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment was proposed by the 72nd Congress on February 20, 1933, and was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 5, 1933. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to repeal a prior amendment, as well as being the only amendment to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions.

The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919, after years of advocacy by the temperance movement. The subsequent enactment of the Volstead Act established federal enforcement of the nationwide prohibition on alcohol. As many Americans continued to drink despite the amendment, Prohibition gave rise to a profitable black market for alcohol, fueling the rise of organized crime. Throughout the 1920s, Americans increasingly came to see Prohibition as unenforceable, and a movement to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment grew until the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified in 1933.

Section 1 of the Twenty-first Amendment expressly repeals the Eighteenth Amendment. Section2 bans the importation of alcohol into states and territories that have laws prohibiting the importation or consumption of alcohol. Several states continued to be "dry states" in the years after the repealing of the Eighteenth Amendment, and some continue to this day to closely regulate the distribution of alcohol. Many states delegate their power to ban the importation of alcohol to counties and municipalities, and there are numerous dry communities throughout the United States. Section2 has occasionally arisen as an issue in Supreme Court cases that touch on the Commerce Clause.

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Background

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. In 1932, wealthy industrialist John D. Rockefeller Jr. stated in a letter:

As more and more Americans opposed the Eighteenth Amendment, a political movement grew for its repeal. However, repeal was complicated by grassroots politics. Although the U.S. Constitution provides two methods for ratifying constitutional amendments, only one method had been used up until that time: ratification by the state legislatures of three-fourths of the states. However, the wisdom of the day was that the lawmakers of many states were either beholden to or simply fearful of the temperance lobby.

Proposal and ratification

The Congress adopted the Blaine Act, which proposed the Twenty-first Amendment, on February 20, 1933.

The proposed amendment was adopted on December 5, 1933. It is the only amendment to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions, specifically selected for the purpose.

The Twenty-first Amendment ending national prohibition also became effective on December 5, 1933. The Acting Secretary of State William Phillips certified the amendment as having been passed by the required three-fourths of the states at 5:49 p.m. EST, just 17 minutes after the passage of the amendment by the Utah convention. President Roosevelt then issued a proclamation, stating in part: "I trust in the good sense of the American people that they will not bring upon themselves the curse of excessive use of intoxicating liquors to the detriment of health, morals and social integrity. The objective we seek through a national policy is the education of every citizen towards a greater temperance throughout the nation." A contemporary newsreel quoted a prediction of the creation of 500,000 jobs due to the end of prohibition.

The various responses of the 48 states are as follows:

The following states ratified the amendment:

  1. Michigan: April 10, 1933 (99–1)
  2. Wisconsin: April 25, 1933 (15–0)
  3. Wyoming: May 25, 1933 (65–0)
  4. New Jersey: June 1, 1933 (202–2)
  5. Delaware: June 24, 1933 (17–0)
  6. Indiana: June 26, 1933 (246–83)
  7. Massachusetts: June 26, 1933 (45–0)
  8. New York: June 27, 1933 (150–0)
  9. Illinois: July 10, 1933 (50–0)
  10. Iowa: July 10, 1933 (90–0)
  11. Connecticut: July 11, 1933 (50–0)
  12. New Hampshire: July 11, 1933
  13. California: July 24, 1933
  14. West Virginia: July 25, 1933
  15. Arkansas: August 1, 1933
  16. Oregon: August 7, 1933
  17. Alabama: August 8, 1933
  18. Tennessee: August 11, 1933
  19. Missouri: August 29, 1933
  20. Arizona: September 5, 1933
  21. Nevada: September 5, 1933
  22. Vermont: September 23, 1933
  23. Colorado: September 26, 1933
  24. Washington: October 3, 1933
  25. Minnesota: October 10, 1933
  26. Idaho: October 17, 1933
  27. Maryland: October 18, 1933
  28. Virginia: October 25, 1933
  29. New Mexico: November 2, 1933
  30. Florida: November 14, 1933
  31. Texas: November 24, 1933
  32. Kentucky: November 27, 1933
  33. Ohio: December 5, 1933
  34. Pennsylvania: December 5, 1933
  35. Utah: December 5, 1933 (20–0)

The amendment was officially added to the U.S. Constitution on December 5, 1933, when Utah's state convention unanimously ratified the amendment.

The amendment was unanimously rejected by South Carolina's state convention on December 4, 1933. On November 7, 1933, North Carolina held a vote, and approximately 70% of its voters rejected holding a convention to consider the amendment.

Implementation

State and local control

Mississippi was the last state to remain entirely dry. In August 1966, 19 of Mississippi's counties voted to legalize alcohol.