# 3184c FDC - 1998 32c Celebrate the Century - 1920s: Prohibition
32¢ Prohibition Enforced
Celebrate the Century – 1920s
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 12,533,000
Printed By: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11.5
Color: Multicolored
End Of Prohibition
On January 16, 1919, the eighteenth amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The final triumph of the temperance movement, whose followers believed alcohol caused immoral behavior and various social ills, it called for the prohibition of the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquor” in the United States.
Tens of millions of Americans thought Prohibition would be a cure for the nation’s poverty, crime, and violence. Evangelist Billy Sunday held a mock funeral for alcohol stating that “the reign of tears is over…we will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs.” Americans were so convinced that alcohol was the cause of almost all crime that some communities even sold their jails!
Just prior to this, in February 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment, to repeal prohibition. The issue was then sent to the states, which each held their own state ratifying conventions. Michigan was the first state to ratify the amendment on April 10. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, securing the 3/4ths majority needed to pass it. The repeal officially became effective 10 days later on December 15, but many people began openly drinking upon news of the ratification.
32¢ Prohibition Enforced
Celebrate the Century – 1920s
City: Washington, DC
Quantity: 12,533,000
Printed By: Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd
Printing Method: Lithographed
Perforations: 11.5
Color: Multicolored
End Of Prohibition
On January 16, 1919, the eighteenth amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The final triumph of the temperance movement, whose followers believed alcohol caused immoral behavior and various social ills, it called for the prohibition of the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquor” in the United States.
Tens of millions of Americans thought Prohibition would be a cure for the nation’s poverty, crime, and violence. Evangelist Billy Sunday held a mock funeral for alcohol stating that “the reign of tears is over…we will turn our prisons into factories and our jails into storehouses and corncribs.” Americans were so convinced that alcohol was the cause of almost all crime that some communities even sold their jails!
Just prior to this, in February 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment, to repeal prohibition. The issue was then sent to the states, which each held their own state ratifying conventions. Michigan was the first state to ratify the amendment on April 10. On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, securing the 3/4ths majority needed to pass it. The repeal officially became effective 10 days later on December 15, but many people began openly drinking upon news of the ratification.