By Rachel Union, Library Assistant

The United States Congress first proposed the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1917. This amendment was ratified in January of 1919 and later that year became the subject of federal legislation, called the Volstead Act, prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol. Congress passed this legislation, which was then vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson and later overridden by Congress in that same year. The era of American history where the federal government banned alcohol (1920-1933) became known as Prohibition. Texas amended the state constitution and instituted “dry laws.”

Originally, limiting the use of grains for the manufacture of alcoholic beverages began during WWI in an attempt to ensure food security in the United States and for other purposes such as the production of medicine and fuel. Post WWI, the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol became the rallying cry for those in the temperance movement who felt that the consumption of alcohol poisoned people and lead to ills in society.

Organizations like temperance unions and anti-saloon leagues formed across the United States in support of abstaining from liquor and campaigning against the creation and sale of it. Prohibition was also tied to the suffrage movement as many women were strong advocates for temperance and used this cause as a means to push forward their right to vote. This legislation also resulted from post-WWI fears related to concerns about the many beer companies in the United States with German names as well as the number of saloons that were owned and operated by immigrants. The politics of this movement were complicated as citizens argued for and against this level of government oversight. 

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) has many items related to Prohibition, as well as earlier movements to ban alcohol in Texas and on-going efforts to legislate it since the 21st Amendment repealed the Volstead Act in 1933. These materials include archival newspapers, publications, maps, governor’s records, and more. Below are items that highlight the history of this topic and are held at TSLAC.

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In this newspaper article from 1911, the author discusses Governor Lubbock’s reading of an anti-prohibition letter written by Jefferson Davis where he calls for legislation regarding the abuse, but not use, of alcohol. Davis writes, “To deny the individual liberty and moral responsibility would [be] to eradicate one evil with the substitution of another.”

Found in scrapbooks of the Anti-Statewide Prohibition Association, this item is part of the collection of the Texas Brewers Institute which was founded as a lobbying organization to advocate for brewers and related businesses in 1933.

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Above is the first page of House Report No. 91, Prohibiting Intoxicating Beverages, presented to the U.S. Congress Committee of the Whole House by Congressman Volstead, the author of the Volstead Act (House Report No. 6810).  This bill seeks to offer a definition for ‘intoxicating beverages’ in order to ease enforcement of the 18th Amendment.

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The United States Congressional Series No. 7644 published the veto message President Woodrow Wilson sent to Congress regarding H.R. 6810, the Prohibition Bill. In his writing, President Wilson argued that prohibition was initially passed for war-time purposes and was no longer needed in a post-war society. The Congress overrode the veto and the Volstead Act became law.

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TSLAC’s holdings also include materials discussing the passage and enactment of the 21st Amendment, Repeal of Prohibition. Here are two pages from the Journal of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention held by the sovereign state of Texas in 1933, at which time the delegates unanimously ratified the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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Although prohibition was officially repealed with the passage of the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Texas still enforced state laws connected to its own constitution. On August 24, 1935, Texans voted to repeal statewide dry laws and a special session was called to draft new legislation.

Laws governing the consumption of alcohol continue to present times.  Below are three articles from TSLAC’s vertical files which demonstrate how the legislation was ongoing into the twenty-first century. 

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Images: “They’re Still Making Moonshine,” The Dallas Morning News Sunday Magazine, December 13, 1970; “Boozers, Liquor Laws Enough to Drive a Man…,” Austin American Statesman, September 19, 1970; “Texas Drink Mix,” Beaumont Enterprise, October 14, 2001. Liquor Laws, TSLAC vertical file.

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Below is a list of some additional examples of our holdings. Many items can also be found on-line at the Texas Digital Archive and TSLAC’s online public access catalog.

Title	Author	Collection/Call Number	Year of Publication
Speech before the united anti-prohibition clubs	Mills, R. Q., the Honorable	MAIN 178 M628	1887 (Corsicana Daily Courier print)
Face the facts: Relating to the wet and dry issues	Anti-Saloon League of Texas	MAIN 178 W381f	1927
The voice of temperance scrap book	Morris, Samuel N.	MAIN 178 M834v	1936
National prohibition and states rights speech: Honorable Morris Sheppard of Texas in the Senate of the United States	Sheppard, Morris, the Honorable	MAIN 178 SH49S	1914
Making repeal work	Childs, Randolph W.	MAIN 178.4 C437M	1947
The struggle for sobriety: Protestants & prohibition in Texas 1919-1935	McCarty, Jeanne B.	TXD ZUA 590.7 SO89 #62	1980
Why I am going to vote dry	McClure, OJ	TDA: Broadside 467/TSLAC 2020/055	1933
Letter from Rev. J. Elliott Ross, C.S.P. to Erminia Thompson Folsom	Rev. J. Elliott Ross, C.S.P., Chaplain, Newman Hall, A Center for Catholic Studies	TDA: Manuscript Collection of Erminia Thompson Folsom	1928
Opinion piece from Texas Liquor Dealer	Texas Liquor Dealer	TDA: Broadside br0525	1906

For more information and questions regarding TSLAC collection, please contact the reference desk at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.