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The Twenty-First Amendment Ends National Prohibition

The Twenty-First Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment and ending nationwide constitutional Prohibition in the United States.

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The Event

The Twenty-First Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment and ending nationwide constitutional Prohibition in the United States.

The Wider Story

Ratification came through state conventions. The change followed disputes over enforcement, organized crime, personal freedom and government revenue.

Putting the Event in Perspective

Repeal did not remove every state or local alcohol restriction.

Reading the Historical Record

A period scene should distinguish federal constitutional change from the different rules that communities retained.

About the Historical Recreation

The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: a 1933 American street outside a licensed establishment, distant adults and no modern branding. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.

Sources

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