Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution came from Southern Democrats, a trend which remained consistent with Tennessee as the last state to pass the amendment, during a special session right before the ratification period was to expire. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee narrowly approved the Nineteenth Amendment, with 50 of 99 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives voting yes. This provided the final ratification necessary to add the amendment to the Constitution. The Congress proposed the Nineteenth Amendment on June 4, 1919, and the following states ratified the amendment. Ratification was completed on August 18, 1920, and the following states subsequently ratified the amendment: The
Prohibition in the United States Volstead Act, to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment when it went into effect in 1920. Prohibition began on January 16, 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents (police) were tasked with enforcement. Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it would not be repealed.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." At the same time, songs emerged decrying the act.