Celebrating April 7, the 75th Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 7, 1933. Sirens blared. The beer trucks rolled. People danced in the streets and crowded into taverns to raise a glass in honor of legal beer.

It was the day hope arrived in a glass.

I've written a piece about that day. It's in today's Los Angeles Times under the title "The day the beer flowed again."

I hope you'll take a look.

I hope you'll listen to the recording of the speech Gus Busch gave that day.

Perhaps you'll share a beer with your family and friends, or join one of the special events hosted by bars and breweries around the country.

But no matter where you are, or who you're with, take a moment to honor the day hope arrived in a glass.

Thanks for taking time these past few weeks to share this countdown with me.

Now go! Have a beer!

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 6, 1933:

By mid-afternoon, thousands of people surrounded the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis. A string of 1,500 trucks crawled along Arsenal Street, entering the brewery on 7th Street, where workers loaded each with kegs and crates, and then rolling back out on to Broadway to await the midnight signal.

Up in Wisconsin, the general manager of Fox Head-Waukesha Brewing, who had once worked for Barnum and Bailey Circus, knew something about organizing parades of large objects.

Instead of acrobats, he had 40,000 cases of beer; instead of elephants he had dozens of trucks that would haul the beer. The drivers would spend the evening napping in their cabs. At 12:01 a.m. on the 7th, a hired bugler would sound reveille to waken them. (There was no chance the drivers would take off early: they'd turn their ignition keys over to federal inspectors, who would hand them back at midnight.)

And so it went around the country in the towns and cities lucky enough to have functioning breweries. Huge crowds gathering to watch (and hoping for free samples). Trucks lining the streets for a mile or more. Tavern patrons sipping coffee, chatting, and dancing to radio or live music while they waited.

New Beer Eve, some people called it. An adult's version of Christmas, with the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve thrown in for good measure.

The moment wouldn't last forever, of course. In another day, maybe two, bartenders would sweep up the confetti and stack the empty bottles. They'd swab down the bar and wheel away drained kegs.

Party goers would crawl home to nurse their hangovers and sleep before returning to the grind of daily life: worrying about bills, fixing dinner, changing kids' diapers.

But on April 6th, Americans reveled in the moment -- one sweetened by the knowledge that brewers were hiring workers and paying millions in tax revenues into federal, state, and municipal treasuries.

On April 6, help -- and hope -- were on the way.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 5, 1933:

Meet Jake Ruppert, Master Party Pooper.

Ruppert owned one of the nation’s largest brewing companies, Ruppert Brewing located in New York City. (He also owned the New York Yankees. He’s the guy who snatched Babe Ruth from Boston.)

In 1933, Ruppert was president of the United States Brewers Association, the brewing industry’s trade and lobbying organization.

And on April 5, 1933, in his role as USBA president, he ordered brewers to hold back on beer deliveries until 6 a.m. on April 7.

Not 12:01 a.m., as everyone expected, but 6 a.m.

Never mind that dozens of cities had planned celebrations that would begin before or at midnight. Never mind the big live radio broadcast that would air the first legal “glug” at 12:01.

Never mind the airplanes scheduled to depart from several airports at 12:01, loaded with beer for President Roosevelt. Never mind the people camping out at local taverns, ready to grab the first glasses the bartenders passed over the bar.

Never mind all that. Ruppert said no dice. You gotta wait till 6 a.m.

Why? Because he feared that midnight beer deliveries would provoke a “carnival” atmosphere, causing merrymakers to lapse into “untoward celebration.”

To which August A. “Gus” Busch, Jr. of Anheuser-Busch replied “Huh?”

Well, okay, what he actually said was that he could not “imagine” Ruppert issuing such an order without consulting his brother brewers, or the USBA’s vice-president, Rudolph Huber, (who also happened to be VP of Aheuser-Busch).

And since Ruppert hadn’t contacted Gus or anyone else at A-B -- well, as far as he, Gus Busch, was concerned, the party was on. He would roll out the barrels at 12:01 a.m. Brewers in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia issued similar announcements.

To which the nation heaved a sigh of relief -- and got back to the business of staking out barstools.

Source: “Jake Ruppert Warns Against Beer ‘Carnival’” in Milwaukee Sentinel, April 6, 1933, p. 3.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 4, 1933:

City leaders and beermakers picked up the pace. B-Day was coming up fast. Time to finalize arrangements, hire truck drivers, and track down extra bartenders.

In Chicago, brewers and hotel owners finally agreed on the terms of that city's events. Hotel owners had asked brewers to hold off on deliveries until 7 a.m. on the 7th. (What? They thought people needed a good night's sleep -- preferably at a hotel -- before they began drinking??)

After considerable debate, the hotel owners finally conceded: if brewers began delivering at midnight, the hotels would start pouring.

At least people in Illinois could expect the taps to flow. A whopping 29 of the 48 states were still dithering over details and had not yet passed the legislation needed to allow local beer sales on April 7.

Maybe that was just as well. The vast majority of the states didn't have any breweries, and the few hundred beermakers who planned to have trucks rolling on the 7th didn't have enough beer even for their local markets.

(For the record, the happy states were: Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illlinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin, with the District of Columbia thrown in for good measure.)

(So if you live now in one of those other no-fun states? No parties for you come Monday! You'll have to wait for your state's "real" anniversary........)

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

April 3, 1933:

Wisconsin newspaper reporter Lionel C. Moise sat down in front of a microphone at a radio station in Milwaukee. (Remember: it's 1933; no commercial television yet. You want mass media? You got radio.)

Live, and on the air -- and for the "edification" of the nation's youth who had suffered the misfortune of reaching adulthood "during the arid years" -- Moise was ready to describe and assess the "stimulation and flavor" of the "new" 3.2% beer versus old, pre-prohibition lager.

Like any good reporter, Moise had done his homework. He'd signed on as a temporary assistant brewmaster at a local brewery so that he could "scientifically" test the beer's content. He also downed "sufficient cubic centimeters to equal" six 8-ounce glasses of beer, after which hard labor he stopped to "ponder the result."

Now he was ready to share his findings with a radio audience. It's not clear if Moise enhanced the broadcast by sipping, smacking, and swallowing his way through a re-enactment of his previous research -- but he did render a verdict.

3.2% beer, Moise announced, "is all that has been promised -- and more." "It is agreeably surprising," containing both the flavor and "stimulation" of lagers brewed during the "pre-drought days."

"Two quarts," he added, "made me pleasantly light, but not giddy."

To which the no-doubt envious audience added: "Nice work if you can get it."

Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, "Layman's Beer Verdict Heard on Radio Today," April 3, 1933, p. 1 and "Radio World 'Tastes' Brew," April 4, 1933, p. 3.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

City officials and beermakers around the country began announcing their plans for the evening of April 6 and wee hours of April 7.

The national centerpiece would be a live radio broadcast from Chicago, St. Louis, and Milwaukee, beginning at 11:30 pm and hosted by the Columbia Broadcasting System.

Remember, in 1933 commercial television had not yet arrived, so people gathered around their radios the way we congregate now in front of our flat screens. And programming focused on sounds rather than images.

In this case, there would be the usual round of speeches and music. But the program would also feature:

-- the roar of three aircraft departing from the St. Louis airport. Each would carry a case of beer. Two planes were headed to Washington, carrying beer in two cargos, one for President Roosevelt, one for Vice President Garner. The third plane was destined for New York and former governor and presidential candidate Al Smith, a fervent supporter of ending Prohibition.

-- the sound of trains loaded with beer pulling out of Chicago railyards

-- the hiss and swoosh of the first beer tap being pulled at a Miluwakee tavern

-- general merrymaking and mayhem from taverns and hotel bars in the three host cities.

Several people were schedule to speak during the broadcast, including Gus Busch, Jr., son of Anheuser-Busch president August Busch, Sr. and general manager of the A-B brewery.

As I noted the other day, you can hear his speech here -- but why not wait until the witching hour itself? Just after midnight on April 7!

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

No matter how good the news, we humans will find some way to squabble over the details. Milwaukee beermakers, labor unions, and the Wisconsin state legislature spent the last few days before Legal Beer arguing over the legality of metal kegs.

On March 31, one house of the legislature adopted a bill that banned the use of metal kegs.

Brewers protested, explaining that the ban would force them to cancel contracts with the Wisconsin companies already hired to fabricate the metal containers.

Worse yet, said Fred Pabst, Jr., of Pabst Brewing Company, the lumber for old-style wooden barrels would have to be imported from "Arkansas and some of the other dry states" -- meaning states that had long supported Prohibition.

Pshaw, said members of organized labor, which supported the ban on metal kegs. We want to drink beer "out of wooden barrels, as in the olden days."

This tempest in a teapot -- er, barrel -- raged on for a few more days. But the story had a happy ending: on April 5, the legislature passed a new bill that allowed brewers to use the metal containers.

Beer might be back, but the "olden days" were gone for good.

Sources: Milwaukee Sentinel, April 4, 1933, p. 1; and April 6, 1933, pp. 1 and 17.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

Today, a slight detour from my daily rundown of anniversary factoids in order to alert you to annivesary-related material located at other websites.

In a previous post, I noted that a state-by-state list of celebration events can be found at the Brewers Association website.

But here are a couple of other places to visit:

Check out the website hosted by The National Beer Wholesalers Association. Scroll down to their notice of the 75th anniversary and you'll find a video titled "Mr. Beer Guy," honoring -- of course -- the guys who deliver the beer.

Then hop over to the Anheuser-Busch website for some terrific historical material.

Start here to see a collection of photos relating to the event. The small video screen on that page contains more photos and a recording of Gus Busch's address to the nation just after midnight on April 7, 1933, when he told Americans that "happy days are here again."

A larger version of the video/audio also at YouTube. It's a bit easier to see and hear. Click here for that version.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

On March, 30, 1933, the New Jersey Commissioner of Motor Vehicles issued a warning to motorists in his state.

Enjoy the legal beer that's coming, he said, but watch the wheel while you're at it.

"Theoretically, 3.2 beer is non-intoxicating," he explained.*

"It is conceivable, however, that an excess of consumption of it by certain individuals might result in an adverse effect upon the mental alertness and skill with which they operate their automobiles."

For which I hereby award him a posthumous prize for Most Convoluted Use of the English Language By A Minor Bureaucrat While Issuing a Useless Press Release.

* See my blog entry for March 22 for a brief explanation of the "non-intoxicating" point.

Source: "Warns Beer-Drinking Drivers Not to Endanger Other Traffic," New York Times, March 31, 1933, p. 2.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

Beer Day is coming up fast -- time to plan your own celebration.

One way to do that is by visiting the Brewers Association web site. (The BA is the industry trade group for small and craft brewers.) There you'll find a page devoted to the anniversary.

The page includes a press release discussing the event and significant dates in beer history. But the most important feature is the "select a state" menu. Click on it to find the location, date, and time of anniversary events near you.

As always, a tip o' the mug to the wonderful folks at the Brewers Association.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

People who supported Prohibition (the "drys") had lobbied against the return of beer by accusing the "wets" of over-estimating the economic impact of legal beer.

The wets enjoyed the last laugh -- and did so all the way to the bank: By March 28, the brewers in just one city, Milwaukee, had processed $4 million dollars in orders. (That's about $62 milllion in 2006 dollars.) And they'd already paid more than $50,000 in federal taxes ($777,0000 in 2006 dollars).

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 05:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

It was really happening!

On March 26th and 27th, 1933, breweries in Milwaukee began bottling beer. The folks at Blatz cranked up the bottling line on the evening of the 26th, running a shift through the night to get the work finished. Pabst flipped the switch on its line at noon on the 27th.

It's hard to imagine what roused the most interest: the newspaper report about all those bottles of beer -- or the photograph that accompanied the article. It showed several men tending the bottling equipment at Blatz.

Men working. Collecting paychecks. Earning money to buy food and clothes for their families.

In the end, that's probably what mattered most to Americans during that grim spring of 1933, when a third of adults were out of work.

Source: "Bottled Beer Awaits Signal," Milwaukee Sentinel, March 27, 1933, p. 9.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 06:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a previous blog entry, I included a link to an article about bock beer from the March 26. 1933 New York Times.

But according to An Astute Reader (and I love the Astute Readers), it's only free if you subscribe to the newspaper (the paper version) or the online "Reader's Service."

So apparently I subscribe to the "Reader's Service" -- which, frankly, I had forgotten. (What can I say? I'm over forty. My memory is not my strong point.)

Anyway, apologies for unintentionally misleading all of you. It's a terrific article and if I could do so legally, I'd just cut-and-paste the whole thing as a blog entry.

But of course I can't do that. It's the property of the New York Times.

So if you're dessssssssssperate to read it, you have two options.

One, spend $4.00 to buy an online copy. (Again, I'd happily do that for all of you, but I still wouldn't be able to copy here.)

Two, find a library that subscribes to the ProQuest electronic version of the Times Archives, or owns the microfilm version of the newspaper. Any university library will have them, as will any big city library.

Finally, the Times archive IS free back to 1981.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

News about beer and beermaking filled the nation's newspapers in late March, as Americans geared up for Beer Day.

Beermakers in New York City, for example, warned that they'd have to ration their supplies. "We are booked already above our capacity," Henry Piel told a newspaper reporter. "It is quite possible that there may be a shortage of beer at first . . . ." He explained that the brewery would supply its long-standing customers first. Everyone else would have to get in line.

Some of the Milwaukee breweries announced they'd be selling their beer in new metal barrels. Their engineers had been working on the new container for years; now they planned to start using it. (The beer can wouldn't show up for another two years.)

Finally, on this day in 1933, the New York Times ran a long article on the traditions and lore surrounding bock beer. If you're into beer history, it's worth reading.

CORRECTION TO ORIGINAL BLOG ENTRY: When I accessed the bock article, it came up as a "free" read, so I assumed it was free to everyone. But apparently you can only access the article if you have subscribe to the print version of the paper or the online Reader's Service.

See a longer blog entry for March 26 titled "About that Bock Beer Article."

Thanks and tip 'o the mug to Jeff for pointing this out.

Source for Piel quote: "City Beer Shortage Feared By Brewers," New York Times, March 26, 1933, p. 1.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

Beer was on the way but now it was time to wrangle over the details.

The United States Attorney General and the Treasury Department squabbled over the definition of "12:01 a.m." That was the moment on April 7 when beer sales could begin.

The Attorney General insisted that 12:01 meant 12:01, whether that was in New York or Los Angeles.

Officials at the Treasury Department argued that beer ought to go on sale everywhere at 12:01 Eastern Time -- even though it would only be 9 p.m. on the west coast. (The Attorney General won that debate.)

The mayor of Milwaukee had declared that the city would celebrate the event with a half holiday on April 7. Church officials objected and asked the mayor to delay beer sales and the celebration until the following Monday -- the day after Easter. Apparently beer -- and the jobs it would bring -- would distract people from their religious obligations.

Many people objected to the newly allowed 3.2% alcohol content. Some said it was too high; others declared it too low.

Nonsense, said Max Henius, head of the one of the nation's leading beer schools, the Wahl-Henius Institute of Brewing. "Beer of 3.2 percent is the perfect beer." It would "satisfy the popular demand for beer without . . . endangering temperance and sobriety."

"When people want beer," he added, "They want a refreshing drink, not a fiery drug."

Amen.

Sources: articles in Milwaukee Sentinel, March 23, 1933 and New York Times, March 24, 1933.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 22, 1933:

Seventy-five years ago today, Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation designed to “provide revenue by the taxation of certain non-intoxicating liquor.”

The bill modified the old Volstead Act to define a “non-intoxicating” beverage as one that contained to 3.2 percent alcohol. (The old version of Volstead defined “non-intoxicating” as beverages of a half percent alcohol.)

In simple language, even though Prohibition remained in effect, Americans could now manufacture and sell fermented beverages of 3.2 percent alcohol content. After thirteen dry years, “real” beer would go on sale at 12:01 a.m. on April 7.

President Roosevelt and Congress expected the “revenue” bill to stimulate employment in brewing and related industries, and, more important, thanks to a tax levy of five dollars per barrel, funnel revenue into the federal treasury.

An impromptu celebration erupted in downtown Milwaukee, where traffic came to a halt and people danced in the streets. Thousands of people lined up at breweries in that city and in St. Louis and New York, hoping to get one of the jobs that were now available.

A third of adults were out of work. Millions were homeless and hungry. But now, after a long winter and several years of despair, hope was on the way.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 21, 1933:

On this day, the House of Representatives approved the final version of the beer bill.

Members of the House and Senate had hoped to get it on the president's desk that day, but a clerical snafu stalled the proceedings. The Speaker of the House signed his copy and asked a clerk to run it back over to the Senate. There, the vice-president would sign it in the presence of the assembled Senate.

One small problem: The clerk missed the v-p and the Senators by nine minutes; they'd already adjourned for the day.

Not to worry. Tomorrow was soon enough. One more day. One more signature.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 20, 1933:

The Senate spent much of the day debating its version of the beer bill, which called for legalizing beer with 4 percent alcohol content. The subcommittee that presented the bill had relied on advice from “doctors and scientists,” who argued that “such high dilutions would not intoxicate.” Indeed, it “would serve as a healthful stimulant and a wholesome food.”

Better yet, said one Senator, it would bring “young people” back to beer and away from “dangerous, habit-forming hard liquor.”

Liquor schmiquor, said Representative Thomas Cullen, author of the beer bill that originated in House. Just get on with it.

“I sincerely hope, he said, “that before another week goes by the beer bill will be finally passed by both houses of Congress” and on its way to the President. “I feel that this is the beginning of the end of an era of fanaticism, intolerance, and lawlessness in our country.”

He didn’t have to wait a week. By day’s end the Senate had approved its version and sent it back to the House. Beer was just one signature away.

Source: New York Times, March 20, 1933: “Cullen Predicts 300,000 Beer Jobs,” p. 3 and “Text of the Report of the Committee Advocating 4 Per Cent Beer,” p. 19.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 03:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 19, 1933:

The day fell on a Sunday that year, and newspapers filled their extra sections with speculations about the fate of the “beer bill” chugging through Congress.

Several days earlier, the House of Representatives had passed a version permitting the sale of 3.2% beer. Would the Senate go along? Would it demand a higher content? Lower? Would the “drys” get their way and stop any legislation?

Never mind the goofy illogic of the situation: A third of adults were out of work, and nearly as many were homeless. Where would people find the money to buy beer?

That question “might puzzle Adam Smith,” observed one commentator. “But it will puzzle no one who remembers that beer-drinking man and economic man are not the same person.”

And this “psychological moment” belonged to beer-drinking man. When beer “[made] its bow,” “happier . . . days” could not be far behind.

Source: “New Flow of Beer Will Bring Social and Economic Changes,” New York Times, March 19, 1933, p. 2XX.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 18, 1933:

A reporter in Milwaukee set out to answer a question plaguing the newspaper's readers: Were the city’s brewers really ready to go?

The answer? Yes.

“Our tanks are fairly bulging,” said one brewery representative, “and if they don’t give us the word to go pretty soon, the sides of our building will be pushed out.”

Well, okay, a slight exaggeration. But who cared? The sweet smell of real beer was in the air.

Source: “Brewery Vats Bulge Awaiting Word to Go,” Milwaukee Sentinel, March 18, 1933, pp. 1 and 3.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 17, 1933:

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union issued a statement warning women against the dangers of beer. “If women take to the beer habit, they have only to look at some of the beer drinkers in London slums to see what is ahead of them. Beer makes fat.” (No word on whether German women suffered the same fate...)

The WCTU promised to continue its war on booze, especially beer, which the organization denounced as “the most brutalizing of all drinks,” because it “induces and perpetuates the alcohol habit . . . .”

“No nation,” the ladies warned, “ever drank itself out of depression.”

Phhhtttt! This was the same song-and-dance the group had been performing for more than fifty years.

At least this time the audience wasn't watching.

Source: “Women Warned of Fattening Beer,” New York Times, March 18, 1933, p. 2.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 15, 1933:

Chicago officials announced they’d received 2,138 applications to sell beer, and had already approved more than 700 of those requests.

Up in Milwaukee, that city’s Association of Commerce swooned at the idea of legal beer. Brewers and related manufacturers (like glass and barrel makers) were expected to create more than 25,000 new jobs.

The “prospect of legal beer is almost too good to be true,” sighed the manager of the Blatz Hotel. But that didn’t stop him from making plans: he’d ordered new steins, lighting fixtures, and palm plants for the hotel’s restaurant. “All we are waiting for,” he added, “is legal beer.”*

Him and 125 million other Americans.

*Sources: “Issues 741 Beer Licenses,” New York Times, March 16, 1933, p. 20; and various reports in the Milwaukee Sentinel, March 15, 1933.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

March 14, 1933: The Aldermen of Ansonia, Connecticut wasted no time affirming their support for legal beer. True, the method they used was a little odd: they voted to demolish the fountain sitting in front of City Hall.

Why? Because it had been donated to the town in 1914 by the local chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, one of the prime movers responsible for Prohibition.*

And the people of Ansonia, like just about everyone else in the United States, were ready to bury anything even remotely connected to the thirteen-year disaster of the Eighteenth Amendment.

Happy days were on the way.

*Source: “Will Remove W.C.T.U. Fountain,” New York Times, March 15, 1933, p. 19.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Counting Down to April 7, the Anniversary of the Return of Legal Beer

On March 13, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt sent Congress a short message: Please amend the Volstead Act to allow the sale of beer with an “alcoholic” content.

Americans had elected FDR the previous November because the nation was mired in the disaster that we now call the Great Depression. The new president promised to get the economy up and running again.

Bringing back beer was part of the plan: Legalize beer and brewers could re-open their doors. In doing so, they’d hire thousands of workers (whose paychecks would then circulate through the economy), spend millions of dollars refurbishing their dilapidated breweries (more workers, more paychecks), and deposit hefty tax revenues into federal, state, and local treasuries.

Congress had laid the groundwork the previous December, when a committee in the House of Representatives discussed the details, including the all-important matter of how much alcohol beer ought to contain. (Brewers urged Congress to allow at least 3.2%.)

Now it was up to both the House and the Senate to agree on the legislation and send the bill on to the president. An impatient nation urged them to move quickly.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 4, 1933: Franklin Roosevelt took the oath of office and moved into the White House.

Why does that matter? Because he campaigned on the Democrats’ promise to end Prohibition. He got that project underway a few days later by asking Congress to legalize the manufacture and sale of beer. On April 7, 1933, beer came back.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging about that moment in our history. Stay tuned.

But today, take a few minutes to read FDR’s first inaugural address. He began his first term during the Great Depression, when Americans faced economic disaster on a scale that, bad as things are now, few of us can imagine. His message of hope is as inspiring now as it was then.

Posted by Maureen Ogle at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)