History: Prohibition Of Alcoholic Beverages, Los Angeles, California, United States

A resolution calling for a Constitutional amendment to accomplish nationwide Prohibition was introduced in Congress and passed by both houses in December 1917. By January 16, 1919, the Amendment had been ratified by thirty-six of the forty-eight states needed to assure it passage into law. Eventually, only two of those states—Connecticut and Rhode Island—failed to ratify it. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed enabling legislation, known as the Volstead Act, to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment when it went into effect in 1920.
• Start of national prohibition (January 1920)
Prohibition began on January 17, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police) were given the task of enforcing the law.
Although it was highly controversial, Prohibition received support among diverse groups. Progressives believed Prohibition would improve society as generally did women, southerners, those living in rural areas, and African Americans; however, a few exceptions, such as the Woman’s Organization for Prohibition Reform, opposed it. American humorist Will Rogers joked about southern prohibitionists: "The South is dry and will vote dry. That is, everybody sober enough to stagger to the polls." Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it would not be repealed. One of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard, joked that "there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a humming-bird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail."