Just the word “prohibition” is enough to make most beer fans cringe. I’ve never lived in a world where beer was against the law, but I sure know that I don’t want to. Prohibition was a big part of U.S. history however and if you’re a nerd like me, it’s pretty interesting to learn about it.
Since today marks 78 years since the Cullen-Harrison Act became law, allowing Americans to sell alcohol again, I’ve put together a bullet point history of prohibition formatted Twitter style (140 character or less sentences).
- 1830 – The average American drank 1.7 bottles of hard liquor a week (3 times the amount consumed in 2010)
- 1840’s – The prohibition movement began lead by pietistic religious denominations
- 1851 – The state of Maine banned the manufacturing and selling of liquor, but it was repelled in 1856
- 1869 – Prohibition Party founded
- 1873 – Women’s Christian Temperance Union founded
- 1873 – 4131 Breweries were running in the U.S.
- 1881 – Kansas became the first state to outlaw alcoholic beverages in its constitution
- 1893 – The Anti-Saloon League is formed
- December 1917 – Resolution was introduced & passed by congress calling for an amendment to accomplish nationwide prohibition
- January 16, 1919 – The 18th Amendment had been ratified by 36 of the 48 states
- October 28, 1919 – The amendment was implemented by the Volstead Act
- January 16, 1920 – Prohibition began making it illegal to sell and transport alcohol in the U.S.
- March 23, 1933 – President Roosevelt signed amendment to Volstead Act (Cullen-Harrison Act), allowing the manufacture and sale of “3.2 beer”
- April 7, 1933 – The Cullen-Harrison Act became law (allowing beers up to 4% ABV to be manufactured)
- April 8, 1933 – Anheuser-Busch, Inc. sent a team of Clydesdale horses to deliver a case of Budweiser to the White House
- December 5, 1933 – The 21st Amendment repeals the 18th Ammendment
- 1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous is founded
What are you drinking today in honor national beer day?
