Prohibition in the United States December 18, 1918. Upon being approved by a 36th state on January 16, 1919, the amendment was ratified as a part of the Constitution. By the terms of the amendment, the country went dry one year later, on January 17, 1920. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The act established the legal definition of intoxicating liquors as well as penalties for producing them. Although the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, the federal government lacked resources to enforce it. Prohibition was successful in
Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act 1931 Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act 1931 The Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act, 1931 (No. 37/1931) popularly called the Public Safety Act 1931, was an amendment to the Constitution of the Irish Free State which inserted Article 2A, empowering the Executive Council to declare a state of emergency during which most provisions of the constitution could be suspended and extra security measures taken. These measures included the use of a military tribunal (the Constitution (Special Powers) Tribunal) to try civilians for political crimes, granting extra powers of search and arrest to the Garda Síochána (police), and the prohibition of organisations deemed