#volstead act

December 4, 1933 was the eve of the repeal of the 18th Amendment. Here, Bunny Swanson, embodying the Spirit of Repeal, assists happy art student "mourners" in stowing away an effigy of Prohibition during a ceremony at the Art Students League. This was followed by a processional along Fifth Avenue, where the "remains" were escorted to a ballroom of a hotel, to lie in state during the League's Repeal Ball and Revel the following evening.

Act of October 28, 1919 [Volstead Act]

Record Group 11: General Records of the United States GovernmentSeries: Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress

The 18th Amendment which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol for beverage purposes was ratified by the states. Movement for prohibition began in the early 19th century when Americans who were concerned about the effects of drinking formed temperance groups. In the late 19th century these temperance groups had become a huge political force. December 1917 Congress passed the amendment which was sent to the states for ratification. 9 months after the amendment was ratified the Volstead Act was passed by Congress. The Volstead Act provided the enforcement of prohibition and created a special unit in the Treasury Department. January 17, 1920 was the day that the Amendment went into effect. Volstead Act failed though to prevent the large scale distribution of alcohol and organized crime in America soon took over. In 1933 the 21st Amendment was passed which repealed the 18th Amendment. 

A bit of October 28th history...

1492 - Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name “Juana”

1538 - The 1st university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomas de Aquino, is established on Hispaniola

1793 - Eli Whitney applies for a patent on the Cotton Gin

1886 - Statue of Liberty dedicated by US President Cleveland, celebrated by 1st confetti (ticker tape) parade in NYC

1904 - St Louis police try a new investigation method - fingerprints

1919 - Volstead Act passed by US Congress, establishing prohibition, despite President Wilson’s veto

1924 - “Taung Child” discovered in lime quarry in Taung, South Africa; paleoanthropologist Raymond Dart identifies the fossil as a new hominin species, Australopithecus Africanus (thought killed by eagle) (pictured)

1965 - Gateway Arch (630 ft high) completed in St Louis, Missouri

—Nikola Tesla