1920s and Prohibition

By reaganwalkerj

  • Senate passes the Volstead Act

    This was the first major step to passing the 18th Amendment. The law prohibited "intoxicating beverages".

  • 18th Amendment to the US Constitution

    This bans the production, transportation and sale of alcohol.

  • Congress passes the Volstead Act

    The law goes into effect January 17, 1920 and gives guidelines for prohibition enforcement.

  • Prohibition Unit

    The Bureau of Internal Revenue forms the Prohibition Unit.

  • 19th Amendment

    Women were given the right to vote with the passing of the 19th Amendment.

  • Mabel Walker Willebrandt names Assistant Attorney General

    President Harding names Mabel Walker Willebrandt as Assistant Attorney General. She is the top enforcer of the Volstead Act. She realizes that bootleggers don't file tax returns and has the idea that they could be arrested for tax evasion.

  • Harding dies in office

    A tough presidency ends for Warren Harding when he dies in office. Calvin Coolidge takes over and becomes President.

  • Yankees win the World Series

    Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees win their first ever World Series. This was the beginning of many years of dominance. Babe Ruth is voted MVP.

  • J. Edgar Hoover

    J. Edgar Hoover is appointed to lead the FBI.

  • Macy's parade

    The first Macy's day parade takes place in New York City.

  • The Great Mississippi Flood

    700,000 people are affected by the worst national disaster of it's time.

  • Transatlantic call

    The first transatlantic phone call is made to London from New York City.

  • Academy Awards

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is born.

  • Spirit of St Louis

    Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. He flies in a single seat, single engine monoplane called the Spirit of St Louis.

  • Mickey and Minnie

    Disney Studios releases a short animated cartoon called Plane Crazy, it contains the first appearance of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

  • Elliot Ness

    Prohibition Agent, Elliot Ness really starts to go after Prohibition violators. One of the most famous was Al Capone who ran a gang in Chicago. He will be arrested in 1931 for tax evasion.

  • St Valentine Massacre

    Gangster Al Capone kills seven rival gang members.

  • Black Tuesday

    The stock market crashes and leads to the Great Depression.

  • Congress proposes 21st Amendment

    This Amendment would officially end Prohibition.

  • FDR signs Cullen-Harrison Act

    President Franklin Roosevelt signs the Cullen-Harrison Act which legalizes production and sale of some alcoholic products. Many are ready for Prohibition to end.

  • 21st Amendment is passed

    Prohibition in the US is over with the passing of the 21st Amendment.