On the 16th day of January 1919, the loudest and squeakiest wheel of all squeaky wheels of the day, the Temperance Union, achieved its ultimate desire with the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment.
The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors in the United States. The proponents of the law believed that all of society’s ills would be magically washed down the drain along with the many gallons of alcohol. Of course, this was just an ill-conceived fantasy.
The Prohibition of alcohol increased the nation’s thirst for alcohol, and with legal means of production and distribution now forbidden, organized crime was all too happy to fill the void. Sometimes, it’s the medicine itself that causes the pain.
While Prohibition slogged on for 13-plus years, there was a growing understanding that it had caused more ills than it had solved. Many former Prohibitionists vocally supported repeal, and by 1932, the will for repeal was strong enough to become a platform for politicians. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the final state to reach the three-quarter majority and ratified the Twenty-First Amendment, which repealed Prohibition.
We celebrate this day, December 5 – Repeal Day. However, we can never forget that there would have been no need for the 21st Amendment had there been no 18th Amendment.
Believing that one knows what is best for their neighbor is a human flaw. When this arrogance is married to government, you get tyranny. Jefferson warned, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” Even a nation conceived in liberty can veer towards tyranny when a good number of its citizens permit the government to tell them what they must purchase or cannot.
We at BevX raise a glass to Repeal Day, the beautiful reckoning of a grave error and the warm embrace of individual liberty. Beware a government restricting its citizens in the name of a public good or for their own good. You were born free, and governments will always encroach on your freedoms if they believe that they can — don’t let them!
On this joyous day, might we suggest the Scofflaw Cocktail, a drink that symbolized the rebellion against Prohibition.