Definition

Proper noun: * The Eighteenth Amendment: The amendment to the Constitution of the United States that established the nationwide prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. It was ratified in 1919 and took effect in 1920. It was later repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.

Usage

The term "Eighteenth Amendment" is used historically and legally to refer specifically to this constitutional provision. It is always capitalized. * The Eighteenth Amendment was a defining, though ultimately failed, experiment in American social policy. * Prohibition, mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, led to the rise of organized crime.

Advanced Usage

• "the era of the Eighteenth Amendment": A phrase used to describe the Prohibition period in the United States (1920-1933).
  • Speakeasies flourished during the era of the Eighteenth Amendment.

Variants and Related Words

• Prohibition (n): The common name for the period and policy enacted by the Eighteenth Amendment.
  • Prohibition was the result of a long campaign by temperance movements.
• Volstead Act (n): The federal law that provided for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment.
  • The Volstead Act defined "intoxicating liquors" and outlined penalties for violations.
• Twenty-first Amendment (n): The amendment that repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.
  • The ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment ended national Prohibition.

Synonyms

• Prohibition Amendment: A direct descriptive synonym.
  • The Prohibition Amendment was a source of significant social conflict.

Related Phrases

• "to be repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment": The standard phrase describing the end of the Eighteenth Amendment's legal force.
  • The Eighteenth Amendment is notable for being the only amendment to have been repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment.

Noun

1. an amendment to the Constitution of the United States adopted in 1920; prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages; repealed in 1932