The repeal of Prohibition occurred at 4:31 p.m., December 5, 1933.  Marking the end of this really bad idea, Franklin D. Roosevelt made one the greatest understatements ever uttered by an American President, “What America needs now is a drink.”

The Volstead Act, generally known as the 18^th Amendment, was ratified on January 16, 1919.  Basically it prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, or importation of intoxicating liquors; interestingly enough, the consumption thereof was not.  When Utah ratified the 21^st Amendment 79 years ago today, it was the final state needed for the three-quarters majority to repeal prohibition.

Do something today to celebrate.  Prohibition was not just about an ill-informed minority of noisy zealots who felt that alcohol other people were drinking was the cause of all their ills, but also an attack of the rich immigrant culture growing in America where alcohol was an integral part of celebration, religion, and everyday life.  If you are like me, and most people out there, who are not one-hundred percent Native American, raise a glass to your ancestors.  Buy a drink for a stranger, pick up a six-pack on the way home, thank a bartender.

I will leave you to enjoy a legal potent potable and offer this quote oft attributed to Abraham Lincoln, "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

Drink & Be Merry! - Bill