21st Amendment
December 5th, 2012 by Erik Loomis
On this date in 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified, repealing Prohibition, otherwise known as the stupidest law in American history.
The state that put the 21st Amendment over the top? Utah, of course.
Posted in General | 79 comments
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DrDick:
December 5th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
Yeah, but my native state of Oklahoma (the National Laboratory for Public Stupidity) did not repeal it until 1959 and did not legalize liquor by the drink until 1987. Some traditions are deep seated there.
c u n d gulag:
December 5th, 2012 at 3:58 pm
My understanding is that Peggy Noonan never does any shows or appearance on this, her favorite holiday.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 3:59 pm
What about Althouse?
Happy Repeal Day!:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
[...] Lawyers, Guns, and Money Tweet FILED UNDER: Doug Mataconis, Quick [...]
wengler:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Yet the other Prohibition continues.
mark f:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:17 pm
Oh great, now I’m going to have to get drunk on bowling night.
c u n d gulag:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
I don’t know, when’s Carlo Rossi’s birthday?
Substance McGravitas:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Therefore The Flaming Lips were forced to turn to drugs. Hooray!
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
I know. Why can’t I buy laudanum from a pharmacy like in 1897?
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
I happen to live in a PA town that has remained dry since Prohibition. A couple years ago, the town voted to keep the ban on alcohol sales in place.
NonyNony:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Why “of course”? The stereotype of Utah is that it would never have ratified it, not that it would have been one of the first 3/4 of the states to ratify it.
John:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:30 pm
I think that “of course” was an example of “verbal irony.”
NonyNony:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Ah. Yeah. I see it now. That makes much more sense than the way I read it.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Pennsylvania has the nation’s most idiotic liquor laws.
A 6-pack is more criminalized in Pennsylvania than marijuana is in Colorado and Washington.
Hogan:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:42 pm
A 6-pack is harder to get in Pennsylvania than marijuana is in Pennsylvania. Both, of course, are vital to maintaining our thriving nuisance bar sector.
Might be time for a little of this action. (We have that photo hanging in our bathroom.)
mark f:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:43 pm
During my brief bartending career (in Mass) a guy came in one slow night, by himself, and asked if he could get six Bud Lights “to go.” All I could think to say was, “Uh . . . no,” and we stood there looking equally dumbfounded with each other.
It turned out he was from Pennsylvania and they allow that there.
Leeds man:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:46 pm
the stupidest law in American history
It would be interesting to compare its collateral damage to that of current drug laws.
Lee:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Utah politicians actually wanted Utah to be the vital state in ratifying the 21st Amendment.
UserGoogol:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Well, being the state which put it over the top means they were the last of the first 3/4, which is a slightly more unsurprising way of saying it.
wjts:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
It depends a little bit on where you are in PA: six packs can be sold by bars and some restaurants. Here in Pittsburgh, some neighborhoods are better about having those amenities than others (Oakland, Squirrel Hill, and Lawrenceville are all not too bad). The real idiocy is that state-run beer distributors (which are distinct from the state-run wine and spirits stores) can only sell by the case.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
My understanding is that the bars that sell 6-packs have to buy them from the state-owned beer distributors, meaning that there is no wholesale price and so the prices for a 6-pack are completely insane.
Not to mention that the bars, at least in my experience which is mostly rural western PA, are only selling Bud Light and such.
Hogan:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:06 pm
The beer distributors aren’t state-owned. The state has a monopoly on wholesale, but not retail.
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I HATE the distributor system. Moved here from ND/MN and got rather used to the idea of a liquor store. I hate that beer must be bought in a case, and that I can’t do one-stop shopping.
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
The bars I’ve been to, in Pgh, do OK with regard to decent beers on tap. I just wish I could get some New Belgium Trippel out here. I miss that beer.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:13 pm
New Belgium is opening a brewery in North Carolina in order to have national distribution. I think this will be happening next year. I do not look forward to the national rush to drink crappy Fat Tire, America’s most overrated beer (except for Yuengling which is of course terrible), but I do look forward to having access to their other brews.
wjts:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
That may be. Six packs do seem to be more expensive in bars than they are at delis and pizza joints and the like. The prices at the latter are slightly expensive, but not too bad. Though Illinois, which also allows package sales from bars, had the same sort of discrepancy in price between liquor stores and bars.
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Yeah. Yuengling is worthless. I can do without Fat Tire. Was recently in the Denver airport and had a Trippel. Forgot how nice that beer is. (I can do without Fat Tire as well.)
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
I should also add, as a Minnesotan, the bratwurst and the New Belgium restaurant was terrible. Absolutely terrible.
wjts:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Have you tried the Sharp Edge in Friendship? They have an extensive selection of undrinkable monk piss. Grub’s not bad either.
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
Still finding my way around. Basically, in the three months I’ve lived here, it’s work and home, work and home, with the occasional trip to the airport (to go visit the BF) or downtown to go to the symphony. Hoping to check out a few new places over break.
I am never going to understand/know the roads here. The layout of streets in Boston was completely rational compared to this place.
dan:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:34 pm
For the record, I believe I could name off the top of my head 10 laws that were far more stupid.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
I’m pretty forgiving of airport restaurants. Just being able to get a good beer is nice. Plus I like that it’s in an out of the way corner of the airport, so it’s a bit quieter.
Murc:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
… you guys didn’t have BARS until the late 80s?
This explains much about how crazy all y’all are.
No offense.
jon:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
If he could have been bothered to mention this little fact, Romney might have gotten himself elected.
wjts:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Ooops. You’re right.
jon:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
I mean, naturally, that Bender Romney could have gotten himself elected.
MAJeff:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
This bratwurst was inexcusable. Sliced raw green onions? That’s not how you serve a bratwurst.
But, again, it was nice to get an old favorite.
cpinva:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:47 pm
oh no, OK has guns all over the place. bars, on the other hand, took a while longer.
mr. browning’s weapon was very popular with the criminal element, especially clyde barrow, who personally loved it.
S_noe:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
The Drone War pissed me off enough that I probably would have voted for Bender Romney. (Just kidding!)
cpinva:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
isn’t that more or less the reason for bowling night?
cpinva:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
the law which gave us national organized crime can never be overrated.
and our drug laws (mostly concocted during the same time frame), by most of the same politicians, have been diligently working their way up the stupid ladder though.
Prior:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
Yuengling is neither terrible nor worthless. Their porter is very drinkable and most of their beer is better than the BMC equivalent. Sure you can do much better in Providence and Pittsburgh but not bad for Lock Haven.
cpinva:
December 5th, 2012 at 5:57 pm
i’m surprised j. edgar didn’t throw a hissy fit, and just insist on keeping alcohol illegal, to help keep growing his little fiefdom. guess the guy wasn’t as forward thinking on the subject, as we have been led to believe.
Hogan:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
How many of them required constitutional amendments? That was an pandemic of stupid.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
If you want to compare it to other beers brewed in Lock Haven, sure I imagine it’s close to the top, along with some dude’s funky homebrew from a starter kit. If you compare it to what you can buy in Lock Haven, well, why would you?
wjts:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:06 pm
Yuengling’s pretty shitty. Honest to God, I’d rather drink Iron City.
sharculese:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I was at a wedding last year where one of my friends excitedly told me they had yuengling on tap. Like I was supposed to be impressed that getting drunk was going to be a chore.
sharculese:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I was at a wedding last year where one of my friends excitedly told me they had yuengling on tap. Like I was supposed to be impressed that getting drunk was going to be a chore.
dan:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Many are, of course, built straight into the Constitution. Recognizing that a dispute over whether the particular laws are stupid or evil may arise (and preemptively point out that these are not mutually exclusive categories), I will point to the following five for starters: the Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas-Nebraska, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 for the pre-Civil War period; the Spanish-American war declaration and the Gulf of Tonkin resolution for war authorization laws. The Volstead Act doesn’t come close to being as bad as these.
Hogan:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:34 pm
I’ll say this about Yuengling lager: I think a decent interval between the second glass and the onset of the hangover is not too much to ask.
Bitter Scribe:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:40 pm
I get depressed whenever I think of Prohibition, because it makes me think I’ll never see marijuana legalized in my lifetime. If the Moral Majority forebears and others who ramrodded Prohibition through could get alcohol–which has been used in almost every civilization in recorded history–banned, purely because they hate the prospect of others using chemicals to feel better, what chance is there for anything else to even get in the door?
Malaclypse:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
And the good dive bars would let you buy a six-pack for last call, to go, and then not require you to actually go.
DrDick:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:54 pm
We had beer bars (3.2 beer only) and “bottle clubs.” In the latter, you were supposed to bring your own bottle (which was left behind the bar with your name on it) and the club sold you set ups. Of course all the bottle clubs had house bottles “for guests” and you could generally get a drink anywhere unless they though you were the cops or they just did not want to serve you. The cost of the fines and the liquor license was less than liquor licenses in most states.
DrDick:
December 5th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
There are still dry counties in Texas, Tennesee, and Kentucky (including Monroe County, where the Jack Daniels distillery is).
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:00 pm
I think you are wrong about your pessimism. Just move to Colorado or Washington. Or northern California where is it basically don’t ask don’t tell.
John F:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
which is why in my college days on NY’s southern tier half the people in bars on weekends were from Penn, and probably 75% of those buying 6 packs in the 7-11s (hint guys, the supermarkets are cheaper) were from Penn
Johnny Sack:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
All states that did not vote to ratify please secede. Better yet, now I know where we can store our ICBMs and nuclear waste.
sparks:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:34 pm
Hey, I can’t find calomel or nux vomica, either. Bastards.
Johnny Sack:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:35 pm
State-run liquor stores in general are per se stupid.
Also, say what you will about my home state of Florida, at least you can buy beer and wine in a Publix.
Bill Murray:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:47 pm
you can get calomel, you just have to remove it from an electrode before consumption
Bill Murray:
December 5th, 2012 at 7:49 pm
has Utah improved? having a 20 member liquor commission with only 1 person that had ever had alcohol creates some stupid laws
marijane:
December 5th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
A friend of mine calls it Flat Tire.
Erik Loomis:
December 5th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Harumph.
xana:
December 5th, 2012 at 8:48 pm
Surprised nobody has mentioned the Ken Burns PBS mini-series “Prohibition”:
(torrents available)
Cheers!
marijane:
December 5th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
I’d expand that to all of California. You can get a MMJ recommendation for just about any condition (thanks, SB420!), and you can even get a temporary one if you don’t have documentation of your condition from a regular doctor. And the easiest and cheapest place to procure a CA MMJ recommendation is LA.
xana:
December 5th, 2012 at 8:50 pm
oops. messed the formating. That’s a link to ImDB, not some torrent site. Sry.
jon:
December 5th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
Say what you will about Prohibition, but it was a godsend for the poor farmers of Appalachia.
Richard:
December 5th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Among the people who ramrodded Prohibition through we’re the women’s movement since alcohol was only drunk by men, women were getting horribly abused by their drunk husbands and had no legal protection. It was a terrible idea but it wasn’t just prudes and moral majority types who worked to get it passed
Richard:
December 5th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
Excellent series with a lot about the different coalitions that led to the passage of prohibition
A Sobering Post on Alcohol in Speculative Fiction | Matt Evan Probst:
December 6th, 2012 at 1:00 am
[...] Via Erik Loomis at Lawyers, Guns & Money, I am reminded that 79 years ago today, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and with it, the disastrous policy of Prohibition. Naturally, my thoughts turned to the depiction of banned and controlled substances in SF&F. [...]
The Dark Avenger:
December 6th, 2012 at 8:30 am
Counties and municipalities also, Dr. I was in TX a few years ago and needed some wine for cooking. We had to go out of town (Quinlan) to another town nearby and get what I needed at a drive-through liquor store(which don’t exist here in CA, AFAIK).
The Dark Avenger:
December 6th, 2012 at 8:35 am
And drinking their wages away as well:
http://ingeb.org/songs/fatherde.html
NonyNony:
December 6th, 2012 at 9:29 am
According to the list of states on Wikipedia that voted no or took no action at all, we fought a war with most of them to keep them from seceding in the first place.
simple mind:
December 6th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Way back in the Prohibition Years, Cousin Fred from Buffalo wore his great coat with the big pockets across the border to Canada, even in summer. Usually the border cops winked to locals when they came back but this time, not so. “The stash is under the hood” (specially-built brackets to hold a fifth), said Fred, and jumped out of the back seat as his brothers took the wrap.
Njorl:
December 6th, 2012 at 10:25 am
You can’t find Bayer’s Children’s Heroin anywhere these days.
Njorl:
December 6th, 2012 at 10:37 am
I initially processed this as a comment about George Lucas.
I need some caffeine.
Njorl:
December 6th, 2012 at 10:53 am
On the other hand, alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs available, and it’s legal. Hell, X users can take comfort in that.
I think a good argument for legalizing less harmful drugs is that we might be able to convince some alcohol abusers to switch to less harmful drugs like marijuana or ecstacy.
Njorl:
December 6th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
I’m anxiously awaiting Ken Burns’ new documentary on Ken Burns’ documentaries.
The Dark Avenger:
December 6th, 2012 at 1:57 pm
He didn’t have direct jurisdiction over alcohol after Prohibition: