Simone Lawson
The Constitution of the United States has been formally amended 27 times, with over 11,000 proposed amendments. The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified in 1933, is the only amendment that has repealed a previous amendment, the Eighteenth Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors. The Eighteenth Amendment was the product of the temperance movement, which believed that banning alcohol would reduce poverty and other societal issues. However, the amendment proved to be a failure, as it was unable to prevent the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages and inadvertently led to a rise in organized crime. The Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and added language to the Constitution, allowing states to define alcohol laws within their borders.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of amendments to the US Constitution that have been repealed | 1 |
| Number of amendments to the US Constitution that have been proposed | More than 11,000 |
| Number of amendments to the US Constitution that have been ratified | 27 |
| The amendment that repealed a previous amendment | 21st Amendment |
| The amendment that was repealed | 18th Amendment |
| Year the 21st Amendment was ratified | 1933 |
| Year the 18th Amendment was ratified | 1919 |
| Subject matter of the 18th Amendment | Prohibition of alcohol |
| Subject matter of the 21st Amendment | Repeal of prohibition of alcohol |
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What You'll Learn
The Eighteenth Amendment
The US Constitution has been formally amended 27 times, and out of these, only one amendment, the Eighteenth Amendment, has ever been repealed. This amendment, also known as Amendment XVIII, was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919.
The amendment was largely unsuccessful, as it was unable to prevent the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages. It also inadvertently caused a massive increase in organised crime, with groups like the notorious mobster Al Capone taking advantage of the illegal liquor trade. The amendment was also difficult to enforce, with prisons becoming crowded and law enforcement struggling to keep up with the illicit liquor trade.
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Prohibition
The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which established the prohibition of alcohol, is the only constitutional amendment in American history to have been repealed. Proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors. However, it did not outlaw the consumption of alcohol.
The Eighteenth Amendment was the product of decades of efforts by the temperance movement, which argued that a ban on the sale of alcohol would reduce poverty and other societal problems such as immoral sexual behaviour and violence. The Anti-Saloon League (founded in 1893) and its allies were also strong proponents of Prohibition. However, the amendment proved largely ineffective at preventing the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages and inadvertently caused a massive increase in organised crime. Profits from illegal liquor were used by organised crime syndicates to corrupt the police, resulting in non-enforcement or selective enforcement of Prohibition laws. This led to widespread flouting of Prohibition laws, which in turn undermined respect for the law and encouraged an attitude of contempt for rightful authority.
In response to the failures of Prohibition, anti-prohibition groups were formed to work towards the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. On February 20, 1933, Congress proposed a new amendment to end prohibition. The proposed amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, as the Twenty-First Amendment, thereby repealing the Eighteenth Amendment. The Twenty-First Amendment is also unique in that it was ratified by state ratifying conventions, rather than by legislators.
Although the Twenty-First Amendment ended Prohibition at the federal level, Section 2 of the amendment gives states the authority to regulate the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol within their borders. Litigation of Twenty-First Amendment issues has often concerned the scope of state authority under this section, and the impact of the amendment on the power of Congress to regulate commerce under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
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The Twenty-First Amendment
Litigation of Twenty-First Amendment issues has nearly always concerned the meaning of the Amendment's second section and the scope of state authority under it. Questions have arisen concerning the impact of the second section on the power of Congress to regulate commerce, and the scope of the power of states to regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol under Section 2. The courts have held that the Amendment means that the power of Congress to displace state regulatory policies is narrower with respect to alcohol than it is to other goods and services.
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State vs federal power
The US Constitution has been amended 27 times, and none of these amendments have been repealed. State constitutions, on the other hand, are amended regularly and more easily. The current constitutions of the 50 states have been amended around 7,000 times.
The Tenth Amendment, part of the Bill of Rights, is key to the debate between state and federal power. It was ratified in 1791 and states: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This amendment clarifies that the federal government is limited in its powers and that any powers not specifically granted to it are reserved for the states or the people. The amendment has been used to both expand and contract the authority of the federal government.
The Tenth Amendment has been invoked in several Supreme Court decisions to determine if the federal government has overstepped its bounds. For example, in Cooper v. Aaron (1958), the Supreme Court ruled that Arkansas could not delay school desegregation as it violated the previous ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which found that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. In United States v. Alfonso D. Lopez, Jr. (1995), the Court ruled that federal laws creating "gun-free zones" on school campuses were unconstitutional, as the Constitution did not authorise them, thus limiting the federal government's power to enact policies through the Commerce Clause.
The process of amending state constitutions varies across the country. State constitutional conventions were once a common method for amending state constitutions, but they have become less frequent in recent decades. The last full-scale state constitutional convention in the US was held in Rhode Island in 1986, where voters approved 8 out of 14 proposed amendments. Today, conventions are typically called by legislators, who must approve a convention referendum, and proposed amendments are submitted to voters for approval. Some states require a majority legislative vote to call a convention referendum, while others demand a supermajority. Florida is unique in that it allows constitutional commissions to submit amendments directly to voters.
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The Bill of Rights
The US Constitution has been formally amended 27 times, but only one amendment has ever been repealed. The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, which had established the prohibition of alcohol in the US. The Eighteenth Amendment was seen as a failure, as it proved unable to prevent the mass distribution of alcoholic beverages and inadvertently caused a massive increase in organised crime.
The first ten amendments to the US Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791. The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution to limit government power and protect individual liberties. James Madison wrote the amendments, which were influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the English Bill of Rights, and the Magna Carta, among other documents.
The inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution was the result of a debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Federalists advocated for a strong national government, while Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments. The Anti-Federalists' opposition to the ratification of the Constitution led Madison to support adding a bill of rights.
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Frequently asked questions
Only one amendment, the Eighteenth Amendment, has been repealed in US history.
The Eighteenth Amendment prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" nationwide under most circumstances. It was ratified in 1919 and was a product of the temperance movement, which held that a ban on alcohol would eliminate poverty and other societal problems.
The Twenty-First Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment. It added language to the Constitution that allowed states to define alcohol laws within their borders.
