August 2018 - Sneak Peek

Figure 15. On April 7, 1933, it became legal to manufacture and sell beer with an alcohol
content of less than 3.2 percent. This cover marks that event, complete with a Pabst label
affixed to the reverse with the “does not contain more than 4 percent of alcohol by volume.”
Figure 16. Efforts to reintroduce various forms of Prohibition did not end in 1933. This 1940 mailing
was sent by the Anti-Saloon League of Ohio.
Prohibition.” Juror 12, featured on
the cover, is a racketeer. A “Vote
for Repeal” label is also tied to the
cover by postmark.
The repeal of Prohibition
was actually a two-act play. Because
of the Harrison-Cullen Act,
signed March 22, 1933, by President
Franklin Roosevelt, which
amended the Volstead Act (raising
the legal alcohol content in
beer from 0.5 percent to 3.2 percent),
it became legal to manufacture
and sell beer and light wines
on April 7, 1933, as evidenced
by the celebratory cover shown
[Figure 15]. While this was a
huge win for Roosevelt’s administration,
there was still a bigger
battle ahead. After all, prior to
Prohibition, taxes on alcohol had
provided about 14 percent of the
total federal state and local tax
revenues for the country.
Finally, on December 5, 1933,
the 18th Amendment was repealed
by the ratification of the
21st Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution (ironically the tipping
state was Utah). The repeal,
however, was not carte blanche.
The amendment does not restrict
states from banning or restricting
alcohol and its use; instead,
in addition to repealing the 18th
Amendment, the following wording
was added: “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.” This allowed
state and local control. Indeed,
Mississippi was dry until 1966
and Kansas prohibited public bars
until 1987. Many counties remain
dry.
Even after the death of Prohibition,
there have been many
attempts to reinstate it. For example,
the Anti-Saloon League
of Ohio was active as evidenced
by this cover sent in 1940 [Figure
16]. Although the contents
750 AMERICAN PHILATELIST / AUGUST 2018