On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution was ratified, banning alcohol in the United States in an effort to solve a slew of social issues.

The Prohibition’s success hinged on the advocacy of several lobbies, including American women, who were disproportionately harmed by alcohol induced domestic abuse and child abandonment, and the Anti-Saloon League, who claimed that establishments which sold and distributed alcohol were a breeding ground for political corruption and should be disbanded. There was a large percentage of overlap between those lobbying for the Prohibition and those advocating for women’s civil liberties, another hot button issue at the time. It was no coincidence when, just one year after the 18th Amendment passed, the 19th amendment (women’s right to vote) subsequently followed.

On the pro-alcohol side were those who gave nods to the positive economic impact of alcohol sales and tax. California, Kentucky, and Tennessee’s state economies each had large investments in the industry, particularly in the manufacturing and distribution of wine, bourbon, and whiskey.

The notion of “self-imposed abstinence” through a prohibition was not uniquely American nor was it new, as the first official prohibition occurred during the enlightenment period, predicated on philosophical standards of temperance. As the proliferation of saloons gained traction following World War 1, several unions sprouted across the US, calling for a nationwide ban of alcohol, according to the Library of Congress.

Carrie Nation, a well-known activist who was married to an alcoholic husband, famously entered saloons with a hatchet and destroyed furniture and liquor bottles in a great spectacle. Nation’s bold demonstrations earned her a lecture tour around the US, which paid for the fines and penalties of her many dozens of arrests. She also merchandized hatchets with the phrase “Death to Rum” engraved in the side.

In the decade following the 18th Amendment’s ratification, the national attitude towards the movement soured. President FDR, started in office during the American Great Depression, advocated for the repeal of the 18th amendment during his campaign and subsequently won in a landslide in 1933. Before the end of his first year as president, he passed the 21st amendment, which overturned the 18th and re-legalized the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol.

The eventual repeal of the Prohibition can be attributed to a number of different factors—first being the nearly impossible enforcement of the ban, which was a growing hassle that drained government funds. Illegal distribution of alcohol was out of control as people even crossed national borders to drink and bootleggers kept supply flowing.

Although alcohol has been nationally legal since the ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933, there are still plenty of “dry” counties in states like Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, and Mississippi, which legally ban the manufacturing or sale of alcohol to some degree.