Dec 5, 1933 Repeal of Prohibition in the United States

   On this date in history, December 5, 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States officially repealed prohibition. Prohibition was voted into law to begin January 16, 1920. It outlawed the production, sale, importation and transportation of any and all alcoholic beverages. There was some hypocrisy in the law because it did not prevent consumption. Wealthy citizens simply stocked up before the law took effect, including Presidents Wilson and Harding.

   For 16 years, law enforcement fought the rise of organized crime who thrived on bootlegging and in speakeasies. It also saw the rise of "moonshiners" in the south who would enhance their cars in order to outrun the law, which led to the start of stock car racing and NASCAR.
   The negative effects, including the downturn in the economy and the Great Depression, led to the repeal within the Twenty-first Amendment. The repeal however gave the rights to the individual states to prohibit alcohol as they saw fit. Many states remained "dry", or without legal alcohol, for many years. There are still many dry counties and cities in the United States, including the actual county in which the leading seller of whiskey, Jack Daniel's, is made-Moore County, Tennessee.