This Day in History: December 5, 1933

With the holiday season comes times for celebration with party after party being in full swing. Along with the party mode, 'spirits' flow...holiday cocktails, festive punch, spiced ciders, all of which might possibly be spiked with vodka, rum or other alcoholic beverage of choice. (See recipes below.) There was a time when the partying in America came to an abrupt halt, in respect to serving alcohol, that is. Here is a step back in time to the era of prohibition, why it was initiated, its effects during the prohibition years and the return of happy days when it ended on this day in history.

The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified,
repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end
to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America.
Photo Credit: mosbergowners

December 5, 1933 was the end of an America gone dry but how did it all begin?

Before Prohibition...

George Greisser, brew master for
Reisch Brewery before prohibition
(Photograph from Sangamon Valley Collection,
Lincoln Library, Springfield, Illinois.)

By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year – three times as much as we drink today – and alcohol abuse (primarily by men) was wreaking havoc on the lives of many, particularly in an age when women had few legal rights and were utterly dependent on their husbands for sustenance and support. . .

Read MORE @PBS.org which concludes with...

. . .At 12:01 A.M. on January 17, 1920, the amendment went into effect and Prohibitionists rejoiced that at long last, America had become officially, and (they hoped) irrevocably, dry. But just a few minutes later, six masked bandits with pistols emptied two freight cars full of whiskey from a rail yard in Chicago, another gang stole four casks of grain alcohol from a government bonded warehouse, and still another hijacked a truck carrying whiskey.

And that was just the beginning...

Americans were about to discover that making Prohibition the law of the land had been one thing; enforcing it would be another.

During Prohibition...

The Prohibition era lasted from 1920 through 1933, and was an attempt to legislate morality. It took a Constitutional amendment to enact it, and another one to repeal it. The attempt to decrease the "evils" of alcohol actually created more - and new - types of crime.

Read MORE about The Prohibition Era...

America Goes Dry: Triumph and Tragedy

Detroit police inspecting equipment

found in a clandestine underground brewery during the Prohibition era.

Picture courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

Prohibition Photo Gallery @pbs.org

After Prohibition...

December 5 is...

Repeal Day

People of New York are celebrating the end of the Prohibition with beer.
Photograph. 1933. Photo by Imagno/Getty Images

On December 5, 1933, the 18th amendment died! This is the only constitutional amendment that has been repealed by another amendment. On this day in history the 21st amendment was ratified and Prohibition officially ended. The day has since been known as Repeal Day carrying with it legalization of the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Tidbit of Trivia...

Interesting fact... The first legal bottle of beer produced by Washington's Abner Drury Brewery was delivered to President Roosevelt at the White House shortly after midnight on April 14, 1933 and stored in the President's pantry because he was still asleep.

After the repeal of the 18th Amendment,
some states continued Prohibition by maintaining statewide temperance laws.
Mississippi, the last dry state in the Union, ended Prohibition in 1966.
Photo Credit: mosbergowners

Happy days are here again!
Photo Credit: mosbergowners

Check out this cool photo: Some History

"Alcohol, discovered by Prohibition agents during a raid on an illegal distillery, pours out of upper windows of three-story storefront in Detroit during Prohibition, 1929” (Retronaut)

Let's not leave without ideas for holiday beverages to enjoy during this festive season...

http://bakedbree.com/jingle-juice-spice-up-your-holidays-week-3

Jingle Juice (Recipe)

http://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2011/12/quick-christmas-sangria.html

Sparking Cranberry Sangria (Recipe)

Cider Rum Punch (Recipe)

http://thesoho.blogspot.com/2012/12/frocktails-winter-white.html

Holiday Milk Punch (Recipe)

http://www.foodiecrush.com/2011/12/new-year-champagne-punch/

Raspberry Champagne Punch (Recipe)

Not one featured for your taste?
Click HERE for more ideas...

As with any party, there is always a choice whether to serve or indulge in alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic beverages during the holidays. Should your inclination be toward the alcoholic beverages always remember to drink responsibly AND don't drink and drive. The life you save may be your own but it also may be the life of another!