Happy Repeal Day!

Many thanks to the fine folks at Beeradvocate.com without whom I probably would have forgotten this important day in American history. The following, from a blog called All The Rage, sums it up quite nicely:

Seventy-three years ago today, life changed radically throughout the American republic. On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was fully ratified, formally repealing the 18th Amendment and ending the experiment of Prohibition. The move came through the application and convention process provided in Article V of the Constitution, the only time that has happened.

The Amendment reads:

Section 1.
The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Section 2.
The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use there in of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited.

Section 3.
This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.

Thus ended the nation's nearly 14-year effort to halt the production, sale and consumption of alcohol. That initiative gave rise to a healthy black market of liquor sales, earning millions in profits despite law enforcement's best efforts. What's more, it put breweries and other manufacturers out of business, many of which were unable to renew their work when Prohibition ended. The effects of the experiment are still felt today, as people in many states continue to live under Prohibition-era laws governing such innocuous hobbies as homebrewing or wine-making.

Bartender and blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler has worked hard to gain attention for the day that allowed Americans to make their own decisions about alcohol. He notes that St. Patrick's Day, while great, focuses on Irish heritage and Cinco de Mayo does the same for Mexico. Halloween remains a popular day of drinking in many towns, but, again, is merely a default day when people get snockered. Morgenthaler believes that a day that pays tribute to Prohibition's demise would make a more suitable day to raise a glass and give thanks to American freedoms.

That would be today. Morgenthaler advocates elevating Repeal Day as an informal American holiday celebrating the end of Prohibition. He argues that, as the only day with a direct connection to alcohol and its consumption, that Dec. 5 offers the perfect date for such a holiday.

So hoist a pint this evening in tribute to Repeal Day. One need only be an American with an appreciation for history and an enjoyment for the drink to join in.

I could rant and rave about many of the prohibition-era laws still gumming up the works of the alcohol industry, but I'll save that for another day and just enjoy this date for what it is. I was planning on having a couple tonight anyway, but now I have an important event to commemorate as well.

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Tags: Beer, Prohibition, Repeal Day