Volstead

Volstead usually refers to the Volstead Act, officially known as the National Prohibition Act, and to Andrew Volstead, a U.S. Representative from Minnesota who sponsored the legislation. The act was enacted in 1919 to provide the federal enforcement framework for the Eighteenth Amendment’s prohibition of alcohol in the United States and is commonly named after its sponsor.

The Volstead Act defined intoxicating liquor as any beverage containing more than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume and prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, importation, or distribution of such liquor within U.S. territory, with specified exemptions. Exemptions included medicinal preparations, certain industrial products, and religious or sacramental uses. The act also created the Prohibition Bureau within the Treasury Department to enforce the law and established penalties for violations, including fines and imprisonment.

As a cornerstone of Prohibition, the Volstead Act shaped federal law enforcement and public policy during the early 20th century, though enforcement proved challenging and controversial. Prohibition remained in effect until the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment in 1933, nullifying the Volstead Act and ending nationwide bans on alcohol. The name Volstead continues to be associated with Prohibition in American history, reflecting the legislative framework that supported it and the political figure who sponsored the measure.