Events Leading up to Prohibition, During, and After

Prohibition era

Period: Jan 1, 1800 to Dec 31, 1940

Booze

Rev. Lyman Beecher’s Six Sermons of Intemperance

Nov 30, 1826

Reverand Lyman Beecher preaches against the evils of alcohol

Maine passes first prohibition law

Jan 1, 1851

A Strange Quiet
Maine was the first state to prohibit the manufacture and sale of liquor in 1851, to after Neal Dow, the mayor of Portland, gathered thousands of signatures on a petition demanding the state legislature enact a law. The law was later repealed in 1856.

Woman’s Crusade, J. W. Bales Liquor Shop, Hillsboro, Ohio

Dec 31, 1873

Eliza Thompson led women in 1873 to sing hymns against alcohol in Visitation Bands to protest saloons and petition drug stores who filled prescriptions.

Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard

Dec 31, 1879

Frances Willard becomes head of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1879.

Anti-Saloon League

Dec 31, 1893

Anti-Saloon League was founded in 1893 by Reverend Howard Hyde Russell in Oberlin, Ohio.

Washington D.C. March

Dec 10, 1913

Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League members marched to demand a Prohibition Amendment to the United States Constitution.

War Time Prohibition Act

Dec 31, 1914

The War Time Prohibition Act is passed to save grain for the war effort during World War I.

U.S. Votes Dry

Jan 16, 1919

The 18th Amendment is ratified on January 16, 1919.

Volstead Act

Oct 28, 1919

The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, is passed on October 28, 1919.

Prohibition Law Enforced

Jan 16, 1920

The 18th amendment is taken into effect.

Rise of bootlegging

Jan 20, 1920

The rise of bootleggers such as Al Capone in Chicago highlight the darker side of prohibition.

St. Valentines Day Massacre

Feb 14, 1929

What happened in the streets of Chicago during Prohibition made that city synonymous with murder and mayhem for a generation. On February 14, 1929, Al Capone has seven of Bugs Moran's men murdered in Chicago, the so-called "Valentine's Day Massacre."

Franklin D. Roosevelt Signs Cullen-Harrison Act

Mar 23, 1933

Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Cullen-Harrison Act which legalizes the manufacture and sale of certain alcohol.

Prohibition Repealed

Dec 5, 1933

The 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition is ratified on December 5, 1933.