75th Anniversary of the Ratification of Prohibition Laws

Today should be a day of celebration across college campuses and the country, as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which repealed the 18th Amendment mandating Prohibition on the American people in 1919. The 21st amendment ended national prohibition in early December 1933.

Proposed by Congress in late February of the same year, the amendment was finally ratified on the 5th leading to the end of the speak-easy and bootlegging era. All year long, states had been individually ratifying the amendment themselves, with a total of 36 completing the task by the December 5th vote. The timeline goes as noted on wikipedia.com:

1. Michigan (April 10, 1933)
2. 
   
3. Wisconsin (April 25, 1933)
4. 
   
5. Rhode Island (May 8, 1933)
6. 
   
7. Wyoming (May 25, 1933)
8. 
   
9. New Jersey (June 1, 1933)
10. 
    
11. Delaware (June 24, 1933)
12. 
    
13. Indiana (June 26, 1933)
14. 
    
15. Massachusetts (June 26, 1933)
16. 
    
17. New York (June 27, 1933)
18. 
    
19. Illinois (July 10, 1933)
20. 
    
21. Iowa (July 10, 1933)
22. 
    
23. Connecticut (July 11, 1933)
24. 
    
25. New Hampshire (July 11, 1933)
26. 
    
27. California (July 24, 1933)
28. 
    
29. West Virginia (July 25, 1933)
30. 
    
31. Arkansas (August 1, 1933)
32. 
    
33. Oregon (August 7, 1933)
34. 
    
35. Alabama (August 8, 1933)
36. 
    
37. Tennessee (August 11, 1933)
38. 
    
39. Missouri (August 29, 1933)
40. 
    
41. Arizona (September 5, 1933)
42. 
    
43. Nevada (September 5, 1933)
44. 
    
45. Vermont (September 23, 1933)
46. 
    
47. Colorado (September 26, 1933)
48. 
    
49. Washington (October 3, 1933)
50. 
    
51. Minnesota (October 10, 1933)
52. 
    
53. Idaho (October 17, 1933)
54. 
    
55. Maryland (October 18, 1933)
56. 
    
57. Virginia (October 25, 1933)
58. 
    
59. New Mexico (November 2, 1933)
60. 
    
61. Florida (November 14, 1933)
62. 
    
63. Texas (November 24, 1933)
64. 
    
65. Kentucky (November 27, 1933)
66. 
    
67. Ohio (December 5, 1933)
68. 
    
69. Pennsylvania (December 5, 1933)
70. 
    
71. Utah (December 5, 1933)

Ten other states never actually agreed to the ratification.

After 75 years of free-flowing booze, one could look around and see the obvious pros and cons of the 1933 decision. Bootlegging has stopped but drunk driving is no doubt a much bigger problem. Alcohol sales are in the billions every year driving advertising, restaurant, and entertainment industries to success, but Alcoholism is a major problem in many households.

College campuses find frequent problems with binge drinking and out of control co-eds on every corner, but the Mob no longer shoots people in broad daylight in downtown Chicago with the frequency of the bootlegging days.

Personally, I find today to be a perfectly good day to celebrate, as giving Americans the freedom to choose whether or not to drink is one of the great freedoms this country has. In some countries, such as, Saudi Arabia, prohibition is still in effect, and probably always will be due to Muslim Law. The Quran states:
"Shaitân (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allâh (God) and from As-Salât (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?"^[Qur'an5:91][1]"They ask you (O Muhammad) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: "In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit." And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." Thus Allâh makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought."^[Qur'an2:219

For many other countries such as Iran, Afghanistan, Lybia, and the UAE, alcohol is available, but only to foreigners. Muslim residents will be jailed or worse if found in the possession of or under the influence of alcohol. Other parts of the world, such as some states in India, are dry due to religious beliefs and have strict punishments for offenders.

Interestingly enough, in most of Latin America, the sale of alcohol is banned during election time, but the consumption is not illegal. That could explain some of the choices made down there. (I think we should ban it for a week leading up to our own elections. haha)

As an American, and a college student, today is a day of celebration (in moderation) of freedom and history. So cheers to you and yours!