Amendment 18 of 27 · 1919
Eighteenth Amendment
Prohibition
The one-line version
This amendment banned making, selling, and transporting alcohol nationwide starting in 1920. It was repealed in 1933.
The Eighteenth Amendment in plain English
Section 1. One year after this amendment is ratified, it becomes illegal to make, sell, transport, import, or export alcoholic beverages within the United States or any U.S. territory.
Section 2. Congress and the states share the power to enforce this amendment by passing appropriate laws.
Section 3. This amendment will not take effect unless ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures within seven years.
Note: This amendment was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933. It is no longer in effect but remains in the Constitution as part of the document's record.
Original text, 1919
Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
Phrase by phrase
After one year from the ratification of this article
- The ban started one year after the amendment was ratified.
the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors
- Making, selling, or moving alcoholic drinks
for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited
- for people to drink was banned.
concurrent power to enforce this article
- Congress and the states could both pass laws to enforce the ban.
within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress
- States had seven years to ratify it, or it would fail.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
Imagine every bar, brewery, and liquor store in the country closing by law at the same time. That happened in January 1920. Drinking itself was not banned, but buying alcohol legally became very hard. Many people bought it illegally instead, and criminal groups made large profits supplying it.
Myth check
MythProhibition made drinking alcohol a crime.
FactThe amendment banned making, selling, and transporting alcohol for drinking. It did not ban drinking it.
MythSince 1933, alcohol has been legal everywhere in the country.
FactThe Twenty-First Amendment let states keep their own bans. Some counties still ban alcohol sales today.
Common questions
What does the 18th Amendment say in simple terms?
It banned making, selling, and transporting alcoholic drinks in the United States, starting one year after ratification. This began Prohibition in January 1920. The 21st Amendment repealed it in 1933.
Did Prohibition make drinking alcohol illegal?
No. The 18th Amendment banned making, selling, and transporting alcohol for drinking. It did not ban drinking it. The Volstead Act, the law that enforced Prohibition, set the limit at 0.5% alcohol.
Why did Prohibition end?
Many people ignored the ban, and enforcement was hard and unpopular. A large illegal market grew, along with organized crime. During the Great Depression, many people also wanted the jobs and tax money from legal alcohol. The 21st Amendment ended it in 1933.
Is the 18th Amendment still in effect?
No. The 21st Amendment repealed it on December 5, 1933. It is the only amendment ever fully repealed. Its text stays in the Constitution as part of the record.
Go deeper
The scene · 1919
In the early 1900s, groups like the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League blamed alcohol for poverty, violence at home, and crime. They built support in Congress and in state legislatures. The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified in January 1919. It took effect one year later.
Back then
The temperance movement had worked for decades to limit alcohol, and many states were already dry before 1919. World War I added new reasons, such as saving grain for food. The same reform era also produced the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Nineteenth Amendments.
Words that changed
- “intoxicating liquors”
ThenAlcoholic drinks. The Volstead Act, the law that enforced Prohibition, set the limit at 0.5% alcohol, so beer and wine were banned too.
NowToday we would just say alcohol.
Who argued what
Drys (supporters of Prohibition)
Alcohol harmed families, workers, and public health. A national ban would reduce crime, poverty, and violence in the home.
Wets (opponents of Prohibition)
The government should not control what adults drink. A ban would be hard to enforce, would cost jobs and tax money, and would push the alcohol trade into criminal hands.
Key cases
- 1920
National Prohibition Cases
The Eighteenth Amendment was validly adopted, and the Volstead Act that enforced it was valid.
More history and context
The Eighteenth Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919, and took effect on January 17, 1920. It began Prohibition, the national ban on making, selling, and transporting alcoholic drinks. It came after about 100 years of work by the temperance movement. The same reform era produced the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Nineteenth Amendments.
Many people ignored Prohibition. The amendment did not ban drinking alcohol, only making, selling, and moving it. A large illegal market grew, and organized crime grew with it. Enforcement was hard and unpopular.
By the early 1930s, public opinion had shifted. The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified on December 5, 1933, repealed the Eighteenth. It is the only amendment that has been fully repealed. Its text stays in the Constitution as part of the record.
Quick check
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