Prohibition uses. Alcohol consumption was never illegal under federal law. Nationwide Prohibition did not begin in the United States until January 1920, when the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect. The 18th amendment was ratified in 1919, and was repealed in December 1933 with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment. Concern over excessive alcohol consumption began during the American colonial era, when fines were imposed for drunken behavior and for selling liquor without a license. In the eighteenth century, when drinking was a part of everyday American life, Protestant religious groups, especially the Methodists, and health reformers, including
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