21st Amendment - Prohibition repealed
Franklin Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945. One of the key events during his presidency was the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

Amendments 11 - 27

Constitution Home

Cause and Reason for the 21st Amendment
The cause or reason for this addition to the Constitution was because the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) (making it illegal to make, sell, transport, import or export alcohol) was not working. This was reported to the government by the Wickersham Commission in 1929. There were several reasons for the failure of Prohibition. There were not enough agents to enforce the law or control the bootleggers. The low paid agents were bribed to 'look the other way' and gangsters, such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran, made money from organized crime selling liquor and opening bars known as 'speakeasies'. Crime involving the gangsters escalated, the most famous being the St Valentine's Day massacre which occurred in 1929 between the gangs of Capone and Moran. Loss of money was also a great issue to the government. It has been estimated that during the period of Prohibition over $2,000 Million was transferred from the brewing industry and bars to the gangsters and the bootleggers who made and supplied the liquor. For additional facts refer to the Prohibition Era.

21st Amendment Meaning, Explanation and Summary
The meaning of the words and phrases in the 21st Amendment of the Constitution are explained as follows:

21st Amendment: Meaning of the Words of the Amendment

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The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed.

Explanation & Meaning: The 18th Amendment is repealed meaning cancelled.

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

Meaning: People in any state or US territory can make, sell, and transport alcohol. But this must not be done in any states or territories that have laws against this.

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.

21st Amendment: Meaning of the Words of the Twenty-first

Amendments 11 - 27

Constitution Home

22nd Amendment

21st Amendment Text - The Twenty-first Amendment
The original full text of the 21st Amendment of the Constitution is as follows:

21st Amendment Text

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 therein 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.

21st Amendment - Video of the Presidency of Franklin Roosevelt
The above information provides the text, definition and summary of the amendment. The following Franklin Roosevelt video will give you additional important facts and dates about both the personal life and political life of the 32nd President of the United States whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945.