“What America Needs Now is a Drink” – Franklin D. Roosevelt (supposedly)
It only took 13 years for the 18th Amendment to be repealed. What was meant to halt drunken disorder, cure mental illness, and simultaneously put an end to crime in America only increased such debauchery. Speakeasies popped up at an unprecedented rate, and corruption ran rampant. It was a dark time for the United States, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. On December 5, 1933, Prohibition was overturned, and still stands as the only constitutional amendment to ever be revoked.
Sloppy Joe’s in Chicago when the 18th Amendment had been repealed. [American Stock Archive/Getty Images]
Celebrate repeal day by sharing a drink with a loved one, friend, or stranger, and cheers to our constitutional right to enjoy alcohol responsibly. Then stop by the Museum for a special look at cocktail culture in Shaken, Stirred, Styled: The Art of the Cocktail.
[Image: Bottoms Up cocktail tumbler, 1928, attributed to McKee Glass Company, pressed glass, Dallas Museum of Art, the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, bequest of Patsy Lacy Griffith, 2001.163.1–2]
In true rambunctious and Roaring Twenties fashion, the festivities don’t end there. Join us on February 4 when the Museum will turn into a Speakeasy that will rival the Cotton Club itself!
Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.
