What was the Volstead act?

Answer 1

National Prohibition Act of 1919 was commonly called the Volstead Act after the member of Congress, Andrew Volstead, who successfully guided it through the legislative process. The Act made it illegal to produce, import, export, distribute or sell Alcoholic Beverages.

Contrary to common belief, neither the Eighteenth Amendment nor the enabling Volstead Act prohibited either buying or drinking alcoholic beverages.

Answer 2

It was voted on by congress

The National Prohibition Act of 1919 (commonly called the Volstead Act) was enabling legislation enacted to provide for the implementation of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established National Prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

The Eighteenth Amendment was very brief and general in its provisions. It stated simply that "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited" and that "Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

What constituted "intoxicating liquors" and other terms needed specific legal definitions as well as penalties to be legislated before enforcement could occur.

The required enabling law was called the Volstead Act after Congressman Andrew J. Volstead who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee and whose job it was to sponsor the legislation. However, its author was largely Wayne Wheeler of the Anti-Saloon League who conceived and drafted the bill. Nevertheless, Prohibition transformed the name of an otherwise obscure legislator from Minnesota into a household word. The name Volstead was cursed by some, praised by others, but known by all.

The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson on both constitutional and ethical grounds but overridden by Congress on the same day, October 28, 1919.