Prohibition, Its Repeal, and the 22nd Amendment Explained

This article examines the final chapter of the written Constitution, focusing on amendments from the Progressive Era and the late 20th century. It delves into the 18th and 21st Amendments (Prohibition and its repeal) and the 22nd Amendment (presidential term limits), exploring their historical context, motivations, and lasting impacts.

The 18th and 21st Amendments: Prohibition and Its Repeal

The 18th Amendment, enacting Prohibition, and the 21st Amendment, repealing it, are often given less attention due to the latter effectively nullifying the former. However, they offer valuable insights into American political and social dynamics.

Prohibition as a Progressive Reform

The 18th Amendment was a product of the Progressive Era, aligning with other reforms of the time such as initiative, referendum, recall, political primaries, and the direct election of senators (17th Amendment). Progressives sought to combat corruption, including corporate influence and city bosses. The direct election of senators, for instance, aimed to curb bribery in state legislatures by shifting campaign funding to public advertising rather than direct payments to politicians.

Prohibition was also viewed as a reform, targeting the perceived corruption of saloons in big cities. A significant feminist angle fueled the movement, with many women believing that men, particularly working-class men, squandered their wages in saloons, leading to domestic abuse and financial hardship for their families. Organizations like the Women's Christian Temperance Union were instrumental in this movement. The liquor lobby, fearing the impact of women's suffrage, actively opposed it, recognizing the strong link between women's voting rights and the push for prohibition. Indeed, the 18th and 19th (women's suffrage) amendments emerged from the same era.

Additionally, Prohibition had a national security dimension during World War I, with arguments that grain used for alcohol production should be diverted for wartime needs.

The Failure of Prohibition and Its Repeal

The 18th Amendment is unique among amendments for arguably restricting liberty and equality, and notably, it was repealed relatively quickly. Passed in the 1910s, it was repealed in the early 1930s by the 21st Amendment.

The rapid reversal raises questions about how an amendment requiring two-thirds votes in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the states could be overturned so swiftly. Several factors contributed to this:

• Democratic Experimentation: The Progressive Era was characterized by democratic experimentation. Progressives believed in trying new approaches and learning from their outcomes. Prohibition was widely seen as a failed experiment. Instead of eliminating corruption, it drove the liquor industry underground, fostering speakeasies and organized crime.
• Economic Factors: During the Great Depression, many people desired and perhaps needed a drink. Furthermore, repealing Prohibition and bringing the industry back into the open offered a much-needed source of government revenue through taxation. Some politicians who initially supported Prohibition even changed their minds.
• Malapportionment and Representation: The 18th Amendment emerged from a system where rural areas, which tended to be "dry" (anti-liquor), were overrepresented in state legislatures and even the House of Representatives due to malapportionment. Cities, which were generally "wet" (pro-liquor) and had larger immigrant populations, were underrepresented.
• Ratification Process of the 21st Amendment: For the 21st Amendment, Congress took an unprecedented step, requiring ratification not by state legislatures but by specially elected conventions of citizens. These conventions often adopted a "one person, one vote" principle statewide, giving urban areas a more proportional voice. This process, along with the direct election of senators (17th Amendment), foreshadowed the "one person, one vote" ideal.
• Public Opinion vs. Political Expediency: It's also possible that ordinary citizens were more willing to openly vote for liquor in conventions, whereas state legislators might have hesitated to vote against Prohibition due to concerns about being perceived as "soft on morality."

The 22nd Amendment: Presidential Term Limits

The history of constitutional amendments shows them often appearing in generational spurts. After the founding era (first 12 amendments), the Civil War era (13th, 14th, 15th), and the Progressive Era (16th, 17th, 19th, 18th, 21st), the next significant cluster of amendments occurred in the 1960s. However, the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, stands alone chronologically between these clusters.

The Unwritten Tradition of Two Terms

The original Constitution allowed for a president to be perpetually re-elected, with elections held every four years regardless of national circumstances. However, George Washington established a crucial precedent by stepping down after two terms, signaling that the republic was greater than any single individual. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe followed this tradition. Andrew Jackson also stepped down after two terms.

This two-term tradition, though unwritten, became a strong norm. However, it wasn't without ambiguity:

• Assassinations: Presidents like Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley, who were re-elected, were assassinated during their second terms, leaving open the question of whether they would have sought a third.
• Non-Consecutive Terms: Ulysses S. Grant, after serving two terms, sought a non-consecutive third term, highlighting the ambiguity of whether the tradition prohibited any third term or just a third consecutive one. Grover Cleveland also won two non-consecutive terms and dreamed of a third.
• Partial Terms: Theodore Roosevelt, who became president after McKinley's death and then won a full term, later sought another term, arguing that his earlier statement about not wanting a third term referred only to a third consecutive term.

Franklin Roosevelt and the Breaking of Tradition

The tradition was famously broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to four terms, serving into his fourth before his death. This unprecedented tenure led to the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.

The 22nd Amendment was, in part, a retrospective rebuke of Roosevelt's extended presidency. It reflected anxieties about the rise of strong leaders like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini, and a desire to prevent any single individual from becoming indispensable to American democracy. Proponents argued that while voters could decide, a president could entrench themselves in power, making term limits necessary to safeguard democracy. Opponents argued that it should be up to the voters.

Impact of the 22nd Amendment

The federal government's adoption of term limits for the presidency influenced many states to implement similar limits for governorships, though some allow for non-consecutive terms.

The 22nd Amendment has had several significant consequences:

• "Lame Duck" Presidents: Presidents in their second terms are often perceived as "lame ducks" from day one, as they cannot seek re-election. This can weaken their political power, making them vulnerable to attacks from opponents who know they cannot be challenged at the ballot box for a third term. Examples include Richard Nixon's resignation, Bill Clinton's impeachment, Ronald Reagan's political wounding by Iran-Contra, and George W. Bush's struggles in his second term.
• Empowerment of Vice Presidents: The inability of presidents to run for a third term has inadvertently strengthened the role of vice presidents. A president can effectively seek a "third term" by endorsing and campaigning for their vice president. Before the 22nd Amendment, vice presidents were generally not significant political figures, with only about 15% ever winning their party's presidential nomination. Since the 22nd Amendment, over half of vice presidents have gone on to win their party's nomination. This has fostered a "tag team" dynamic between presidents and vice presidents, where the vice president becomes the president's "wingman" and potential successor. Examples include Eisenhower and Nixon, Johnson and Humphrey, Nixon and Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush, and Clinton and Gore.

The themes of "one person, one vote" and the evolving relationship between presidents and vice presidents will continue to be relevant in the discussion of the final round of amendments from the 1960s.