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So raise your glasses up me boys and drink a hearty cheer!

On this day, 74 years ago, the 21st Amendment was ratified, officially ending Prohibition. Thus, I hope you will all celebrate Repeal Day today with a tasty beverage of your choice. But before you crack open a cold one, let's review the history surrounding this august occasion.

After being in effect for 14 years, Prohibition was unmade in just 288 days. The 21st Amendment survived an initial defeat in the House of Representatives, as well as a Senate filibuster. Check out this Time article from 1933:

The happiest, proudest day of his 57 years (30 of them in Congress) "came Aug. 1, 1917 when the Senate wrote national Prohibition into the Constitution. Every Jan. 16 since, all Senate business has had to halt while the "Father of the 18th Amendment" delivered an oration to commemorate the Amendment's effective date.

Now Senator Sheppard arose, not to praise Prohibition, but in a desperate last-ditch defense of it. Waiting at the Senate door was a Repeal resolution. To keep it off the floor the little Texan cleared his throat and said:

"Ten years ago lacking six days I addressed the Senate on the subject of the proceedings of the League of Nations. I now propose to take up where I left off ten years ago. . . ."

Thus began a pathetic one-man filibuster against Repeal.

The Amendment then went to the states, and for the first time in American history, Congress dictated that the amendment be ratified by state conventions rather than by the state legislatures. On December 5, 1933, three states held ratification votes: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah. They became the crucial 34th, 35th, and 36th states to ratify the amendment. That's right - despite the fact that no one in the state of Utah drinks, they were the "swing state."

S0 when you have a drink tonight (or this morning, whatever), make sure to toast the great state of Utah. Those of you who live in Michigan, congratulations! Yours was the first state to ratify the amendment, so drink up. If you live in the states of SC, NC, MS, GA, OK, KS, ND, SD, NE, or LA you might have a drink to drown your sorrows, as your state never ratified the amendment. (Seriously, Louisiana never voted for the repeal of Prohibition!!)

You might also toast Sen. Morris Sheppard and Rep. Andrew Volstead, who sponsored the Prohibition Act. Since neither of them drank, we need to pick up the mantle and drink for them.

God bless America!

Full post as published by Supreme Dicta on December 05, 2007 (boomark / email).