The Daily History Chronicle

On December 5, 1933, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment, ending Prohibition and marking one of the few times America admitted a constitutional policy was a catastrophic failure. Richard Backus investigates why Prohibition failed so completely creating black markets, empowering organized crime, corrupting law enforcement, and making alcohol more dangerous. But this episode goes beyond the 1920s to examine why we keep repeating the same mistake: trying to prohibit behaviors millions of people choose to engage in. From the War on Drugs to other prohibition-style policies, the pattern keeps repeating. This isn't just about alcohol history it's about the limits of legislation, the nature of human behavior, and whether we're willing to learn from evidence or condemned to repeat failed policies.