By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger
What seems so routine today was not the case when Prohibiton ended in America.
The perception is that the very second the Twenty-First Ammendment went into law at at 5:33 p.m., ET, on Dec. 5, 1933, that bars all over the country flung open their doors and welcomed in waiting customers. That there was a party all night and well into the morning.
But it was not exactly that way an in fact, it was actually more difficult for some people to get a drink after the repeal of Prohibition than it was during it and ceartinly before the Eighteenth Ammendment in 1919. Not all states immediately allowed the distribution and sales of alchol. Mississippi, for example, did not repeal Prohibition until 1966.
Still, Probition and the repeal of Prohibition still has an effect felt today. Here’s how the end of Prohibition helped shape the nightlife, bars and liquor sales in the USA.
• Girls began going to bars after Prohibition. Actually they went during Prohibition, partying in the speakeasies. Prior to that, watering holes were primarily just for men. It’s hard to imagine today; I mean the main reason men (single ones anyway) go to bars is to meet girls. If there are no girls in a particular bar, then we go searching for a bar that has girls. This is the big positive of Prohibition. It got women out drinking with men and of course women like to dance so live music then became important in bars. Way to go girls!
• The 21st Ammendment established age limits for people to purchase alcohol. States were allowed to set their own age limits and varied by state. Some were 18 years old, others 19 and many were 21. In 1984 the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act established a national drinking age of 21.
• The 21st Amendment returned the control of liquor laws back to the states, which set operating hours for bars and nightclubs. Today this varies by cities as well as states. In New York City, for example, closing time is 4 a.m. In Los Angeles, it is 2 a.m. (Most cities and states have closing times at 2 a.m.). Las Vegas and Atlantic City have no closing times; bars are allowed to serve drinks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some bars in New Orleans never close, tho most start slowing down around 3 a.m.
• Licensing for the sale of alchol is up to the states. This led to some wildly varying rules, such as this PubClub.com favorite in Tennessee. In the Volunteer State, spirits are purchased in a designated liquor store. But you cannot buy any mixers there or even a corkscrew. The idea behind this ludicrous law is to keep people from opening a bottle or mixing a drink and getting in their vehicles. It ignores the fact that many liquor stores are next door to or a block away from a conveience store which sells mixes and corkscrews. Beer is available in grocery and convenience stores but only until recently wine had to be bought at a liquor or wine store.
Prior to the Eighteenth Ammendment, and one of the reasons it was established in the first place, there were no rules or regulations concerning the sale or consumption of alcohol. With no rules, men drank to excess and alcohol abuse was a problem.
Not that the current laws and restrictions eliminate that, but at least it’s helped to curtail it.
And girls, we’re glad to have you in the bars with us men!
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