PROHIBEAST - The 18th Amendment and the Prohibition

The ratification and implementation of the 18th Amendment

The 18th Amendment of the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919, established nationwide alcohol Prohibition by banning the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages (though not explicitly their consumption). This measure was the result of several decades of activism by temperance movements, supported by religious, social, and political organizations that associated alcohol with crime, poverty, and family problems.

The amendment came into force on January 17, 1920, through the Volstead Act, which defined its legal framework and clarified what constituted an alcoholic beverage. In practice, its implementation proved difficult: despite an initial decline in alcohol consumption, Prohibition quickly encouraged the growth of the black market, the rise of organized crime, widespread corruption, and a significant loss of tax revenue for the federal government.

Faced with these counterproductive effects, the 18th Amendment was ultimately repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment, making it the only amendment in U.S. history to have been repealed.

For more information on the development and lore of the game, stay tuned for upcoming posts.

See you soon,

The PROHIBEAST team