Omar Bennett
The Constitution has been formally amended 27 times, with over 11,000 proposed amendments. Only one amendment has been repealed: the 18th Amendment, which established Prohibition and was later repealed by the 21st Amendment. The 18th Amendment prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, but it proved unpopular and ultimately fuelled the rise of organised crime. The 21st Amendment, ratified in 1933, repealed the 18th and added language to the Constitution allowing states to define alcohol laws within their borders.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | 18th Amendment |
| Year of Ratification | 1919 |
| Subject of Amendment | Prohibition of alcohol |
| Year of Repeal | 1933 |
| Name of Repealing Amendment | 21st Amendment |
| Subject of Repealing Amendment | Repeal of Prohibition, states' ability to define alcohol laws |
| Number of Amendments Repealed | 1 |
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What You'll Learn
The 18th Amendment: Prohibition
The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on 16 January 1919, brought about the Prohibition Era in the country. The amendment prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors". The official text of the amendment is as follows:
> After one year from the ratification of this article 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. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
The 18th Amendment emerged from the organised efforts of the temperance movement and the Anti-Saloon League, which attributed societal issues to alcohol and led campaigns at the local, state, and national levels to combat its manufacture, sale, distribution, and consumption. Many Protestant and Catholic churches allied with the movement on moral and religious grounds, arguing that prohibition would help eliminate political corruption, domestic violence, and prostitution. The amendment was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states in January 1919, with Nebraska becoming the thirty-sixth state to approve it.
However, the 18th Amendment was soon met with widespread opposition. Despite the amendment, many Americans continued to drink, fuelling the rise of organised crime and a profitable black market for alcohol. As a result, crime increased to unprecedented levels, with the rise of figures such as Al Capone, who made millions in underground alcohol sales. Public perception of the amendment shifted from generally positive to negative by the end of the 1920s.
The 21st Amendment, proposed by the 72nd Congress on 20 February 1933, repealed the 18th Amendment and was ratified by the requisite number of states on 5 December 1933. The 21st Amendment not only repealed the broad prohibition on alcohol but also gave states the ability to define alcohol laws within their borders. It is the only amendment to repeal a prior amendment and the only amendment ratified by state ratifying conventions.
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The 21st Amendment: Repeal of Prohibition
The 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment, is the only amendment to the US Constitution that has repealed a previous amendment. It was also the only amendment to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions rather than by state legislatures.
The 18th Amendment, ratified in 1919, prohibited "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" across the United States. While the consumption of alcohol was not illegal, the 18th Amendment gave rise to a profitable black market for alcohol, fuelling the rise of organised crime. As a result, drinking establishments were replaced by speakeasies, and a vast army of lawbreakers appeared. Many Americans ignored Prohibition, and respect for the law was greatly lessened. Crime had increased to a level never seen before, and the enforcement of the 18th Amendment became increasingly difficult.
By the early 1930s, Prohibition had become unpopular, and Congress passed the 21st Amendment, with its repeal provision, in February 1933. The 21st Amendment proposed for ratification included language never used before, permitting state conventions (and not state legislatures) to be called for ratification votes, out of fear that the temperance lobby would influence state lawmakers. On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states, with Utah becoming the 36th state to approve the amendment.
The 21st Amendment repealed the nationwide ban on alcohol and added language to the Constitution that states had the ability to define alcohol laws within their borders. Several states continued to be "dry states" in the years after the repealing of the 18th Amendment, and some continue to closely regulate the distribution of alcohol today.
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The 17th Amendment: Direct election of Senators
The 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, which was ratified on April 8, 1913, introduced the direct election of senators by the voting public during elections. The amendment overrides the previous Constitution's provisions on the election of senators, which provided for election by state legislatures.
The direct election of senators had been a growing demand since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, there were increasing instances of bribery and corruption in the election of senators by state legislatures. Wealthier and more influential candidates could easily bribe legislatures to appoint them in exchange for favors. In addition, disputes among state legislators over Senate elections often resulted in electoral deadlocks, leaving some Senate seats vacant for extended periods.
The movement for direct election gained momentum in 1906 when publisher William Randolph Hearst, a proponent of direct election, hired novelist David Graham Phillips to write a series of articles on the subject. Published in Cosmopolitan magazine, Phillips' series, "The Treason of the Senate," offered an unflattering portrayal of senators as pawns of industrialists and financiers, galvanizing public support for reform. In 1910 and 1911, the House passed proposed amendments for the direct election of senators, and in 1911, Senator Joseph Bristow of Kansas offered a Senate resolution to amend the Constitution. The final version of the proposed amendment was produced in 1912, and it was issued to the states for ratification. Connecticut's approval on April 8, 1913, gave the Seventeenth Amendment the required three-fourths majority needed for ratification.
The 17th Amendment has faced legal disputes in more recent times. Some historians have also observed that the amendment allowed new senators to make decisions based on the demands of their constituents rather than the state legislatures, potentially leading to a greater focus on short-term gains over long-term legislative goals.
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The 16th Amendment: Federal income tax
The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as Amendment XVI, grants Congress the power to levy income tax without apportioning it among the states based on population. The official text of the amendment is as follows:
> The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
The 16th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1909 in response to the 1895 Supreme Court case of Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that income taxes on rents, dividends, and interest were "direct taxes" and thus had to be apportioned among the states based on population. However, the Sixteenth Amendment essentially rejected this definition of "direct tax" and allowed for income tax to be levied without population apportionment.
The Revenue Act of 1861 had introduced the first federal income tax, but it was short-lived and repealed in 1872. During the late 19th century, progressive groups favoured the establishment of a progressive income tax at the federal level, believing that tariffs unfairly taxed the poor. The 1894 Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act included an income tax provision of 2% on incomes over $4,000 (equivalent to $135,951.63 in 2022 USD), but this was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Pollock case. Despite this setback, supporters of the income tax argued that it was not a "direct" tax and thus did not require apportionment among the states.
The Sixteenth Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on February 3, 1913, and it effectively overruled the Supreme Court's ruling in Pollock. Shortly after the amendment was ratified, Congress imposed a federal income tax with the Revenue Act of 1913. The Supreme Court upheld this income tax in the 1916 case of Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., and the federal government has continued to levy an income tax since then.
Critics of the 16th Amendment argue that it enables expansive federal government spending and facilitates central banking policies. Some have even called for its repeal, including Congressman Ron Paul. However, the chances of repealing a constitutional amendment are extremely slim, and the 16th Amendment remains in place today.
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The odds of repealing an amendment
The odds of repealing a constitutional amendment are extremely slim. In the history of the United States, only one amendment has ever been repealed: the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol, was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. This is often referred to as the repeal of Prohibition.
The process of repealing an amendment is challenging and requires a significant amount of political will and support. To repeal an amendment, one of two methods can be used. The first method involves passing a proposed amendment through the House and the Senate with a two-thirds majority vote, followed by ratification by three-fourths of the states. The second method is to call a Constitutional Convention, which requires the support of two-thirds of state legislatures, and then the drafted amendments must be ratified by three-quarters of the states.
The high threshold for repealing an amendment means that even amendments that are widely unpopular, such as the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, are unlikely to be repealed. Despite calls for its repeal by a retired Supreme Court Justice and others, the Second Amendment has deep roots in the English Declaration of Rights, and the odds of its repeal are considered steep.
In recent years, there has been talk of repealing other amendments, including the 17th Amendment (direct election of Senators), the 16th Amendment (federal income tax), and the 22nd Amendment (presidential term limits). However, none of these discussions have come close to fruition.
While the odds of repealing an amendment are indeed very low, some argue that the likelihood has increased due to novel interpretations of the Constitution by the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the process of repealing a constitutional amendment remains a challenging and unusual endeavour.
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Frequently asked questions
Only one constitutional amendment has been repealed in US history.
The Eighteenth Amendment, which established the prohibition of alcohol, was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.
The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed because it had become unpopular and had led to an increase in crime and illegal alcohol distribution.
