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The 21st Amendment

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The 21st Amendment
The 21st Amendment

The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the sale, manufacture, and trade of alcohol, and this amendment was canceled by the Twenty-first amendment.

The 21st amendment allowed alcohol to be sold, manufactured, and traded legally as long as it abided by state laws. The Twenty-first Amendment gave the States complete control over whether to permit importation or sale of liquor and how to structure the liquor distribution system.

The Repeal of the 18th amendment ended fourteen years after prohibition. The reason the 21st amendment was put in the constitution was because the 18th amendment failed to eliminate the consumption of liquor. Although consumption was reduced, officials couldn’t stop the illegal manufacture and sale of "bootleg" alcohol. People who opposed prohibition argued that the liquor ban encouraged crime and disrespect for law, and it gave the federal government too much power over people's personal lives. During the Great Depression, prohibition also took away liquor taxes and millions of jobs in the liquor industry.

At its national convention in 1932, the Democratic Party adopted a platform calling for repeal of prohibition. Congress proposed the repeal of Prohibition on February 20, and it was fully ratified on December 5, 1933

The 21st amendment affects our everyday life because it allows us to buy and transport alcohol (for those 21 or older). Because of this amendment, we have so many beer and liquor companies and industries today that we see on TV.

Because the 21st amendment gives the states control over alcohol, today, Georgia prohibits sale of alcohol on Sundays. Also, the 21st amendment is the only amendment that repealed another amendment in the constitution, and it is also the only amendment in the constitution that was by state

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