The Volstead Act

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During the 1920s and early 1930s the United States was seeing many different changes in its people and laws. One of the major happenings of the time was Prohibition. For the enforcement of Prohibition, the Volstead Act was passed. The Volstead Act was proposed by Andrew J. Volstead in 1919, passed with minor difficulties, and was to carry out the intent of the 18th amendment or Prohibition, which was greatly supported by temperance movement leaders (Harlow; Kizilos;)
With the act, the sale of alcohol for medicinal, sacramental and industrial were permitted. Any beverage that contained “more than one-half of one percent of alcohol” was outlawed, under the act. The act was also set to give state and federal government power to be able to carry out the bans, the 18th amendment set out. The first section of the act also started the continuation of the “temporary war-time prohibition” till the 18th amendment was put into effect, (Kyvig; Rose; Andrew).
1918 had been the last year of World War I; from then on, for the next couple of years, the United States was in a postwar recovery stage, even though the nation’s land wasn’t directly hurt, its people and economy were greatly affected by it. During this postwar time period the government had attempted to put the country into prohibition. Prohibition was enacted by the 18th amendment, which prohibited the selling, manufacturing, and transportation of ‘intoxicating liquors’ within the United States. The amendment had support from many religious groups and leaders, most of which were a part of The Temperance movement, which was the first major step towards prohibition, (Thomas and Bonk).
The first Temperance group was founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1926 as a result of many church lea...

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...ition on the American stage, 1920-1933.” (Theatre History Studies) 29 (2009): 122+.
Harlow, Alvin F. Volstead Act. (Dictionary of American History). Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 8. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2003. 352.
Kizilos, Peter. The Man Behind the Act. (American History). 02 2001: 50.
Landsberg, Brian K.. Ed. Kyvig, David E. National Prohibition Act (1919). (Major Acts of Congress). Vol. 3. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. 46-51.
Rose, Cynthia. Ed. Volstead Act of 1919. (American Decades Primary Sources). Vol. 2: 1910-1919. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 273-275.
Stock, Jennifer. Ed. The Eighteenth Amendment Ushers in the Prohibition Era: January 16, 1919. “Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History”. Vol. 6: North America. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2013.
The Volstead Act, 1919. (Gale U.S. History in Context). Detroit: Gale, 2014.

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