Eighty one years ago today, the United States ended Prohibition, its failed experiment in making alcohol, the nation’s  most popular drug, illegal.  From 1920-1933, the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution banned the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes.”  Watch a video of La Guardia Professor Emerita Janet Lieberman

describing how easy it was to consume alcohol during Prohibition and a Universal Newspaper Newsreel produced when Prohibition was repealed.

Fiorello La Guardia was also a leading opponent of Prohibition.  To learn more about his views on Prohibition and their similarities to current arguments in favor of marijuana legalization; you can read “Marijuana Legalization Arguments Similar to La Guardia’s Arguments Against Prohibition” on the Archives’ blog.

If you are so inclined, you can also make a toast to the 21^st Amendment that made your drink possible today.

Sincerely,

Steven A. Levine, Ph.D.

Coordinator for Educational Programs
La Guardia and Wagner Archives
La Guardia Community College, CUNY
slevine@lagcc.cuny.edu
(718) 482-6067