Happy Repeal Day!

"Prohibition made me want to cry in my beer, and then denied me the beer to cry in." -- Will Rogers

January 16, 1920: Prohibition officially begins. Ratification of the 18th Amendment occurred January 16, 1919 with the law going into effect one year later.

The lightning growth during the late 19th century saw a rapid rise in urban centers in the U.S. Large towns became industrial centers. Labor issues began in earnest. Non-rural work days saw the need to "unwind" and decompress after the new 8-hour workday.

Welcome the tavern. The saloon.

These places of social congregation in time gave rise to unsightly sins of debauchery: heavy gambling, adulterous prostitution, and a reckless irresponsible affinity toward alcohol. The early 20th century worker did not "know when to say when". Many associations and groups lumped the social ills of the day as a direct result of alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League (what a name!) and the Women's Temperance Union were powerful and effective lobbyist groups of the time. Brewers, tavern keepers, and the alcohol swilling public discounted the power of these groups with the government, and as a result stood silently by. Surely the government would never curb the public's thirst.

Wrong.

13 years of a "dry" nation occurred.

Repeal was essentially a "quick" one, if you can count 13 years quick. Enforcement of Prohibition was spotty, with bribery and corruption running amok. Revenue from alcohol sales saw sharp declines, making government suffer as a result. The idea was that a larger sober workforce paying income taxes would offset any monies alcohol would produce. And a little something called The Great Depression cut income across the board with joblessness. Uh-oh. Once you start taking money from Uncle Sam, things are going to change. And change they did. Why not recoup some tax money with alcohol again?

December 5th, 1933: the repeal of the 18th Amendment. The 21st Amendment is ratified. That "noble experiment", Prohibition, ends. Essentially, the government could not effectively limit the populace to acquire a product they wanted. The costs of preventing the public from getting what it wanted were immense. Beer had been consumed for thousands of years. Thousands. Frankly, cutting it out of society completely was unnatural and counter to society.

This is the 75th anniversary of the Repeal, and a day truly deserving of a toast. A hearty glass of Gordonian ale will be most certainly be raised in celebration once pharmacy-type duties are completed today.

75 years.

Groups now rumble and murmur about alcohol's "sins" and the need to rid it from the face of the earth. Neo-Prohibitionists whittle away at our right to alcohol with blood alcohol limits connected to federal highway fund dollars, Sunday alcohol sales, legal drinking ages out of line with the age to die for one's country while in the military, package size restrictions, etc.

Never again. People are listening. Brewers and distillers and vintners are listening. The efforts of the holier-than-thou teetotalers will never again come to fruition. BUT, this is not a given. We must have resolve, we must be ever vigilant. But for now, we must enjoy a cold beer in honor of 75 years of forward thinking.

Cheers! Enjoy that beer.

(FYI, this is my first "repeated" subject posting. Observe December 5th, 2007 for the 74th anniversary: http://thehouseofgordon.blogspot.com/2007/12/i-think-this-would-be-good-time-for.html)