Webb-Kenyon Act
Encyclopedia
The Webb-Kenyon Act was a 1913 law of the United States that regulated the interstate transport of alcoholic beverages. It was meant to provide federal support for the prohibition efforts of individual states in the face of charges that state regulation of alcohol usurped the federal government's exclusive constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce.
Rep. Edwin Y. Webb of North Carolina
and Republican
Sen. William S. Kenyon of Iowa
. Congress passed the legislation and sent it to the President on February 18, 1913. Ten days later, on February 28, 1913, President William Howard Taft
, in the closing days of his administration, vetoed the law on constitutional grounds, believing that it delegated to the individual states the federal government's exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce. He submitted with his veto an opinion by Attorney General George W. Wickersham
. The Senate overrode his veto the same day by a vote of 63 to 21, and the House of Representatives did so by a vote of 246 to 85 on March 1, 1913.
The law did not simply prohibit the transport of alcoholic beverages into "dry" states, that is, states that banned alcohol. At the time of its passage and for years afterward, states varied greatly in their regulation of alcohol. Few banned alcohol entirely and were "bone-dry." Some allowed liquor to be ordered by mail but limited the amount per month per person or prohibited its receipt by businesses. They differed as well in their definitions of such beverages by alcohol content. The Webb-Kenyon Act established the federal government's endorsement of the right of each state to control the receipt, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages within its jurisdiction.
Its passage, followed shortly by the passage of an income tax, was recognized as a major progressive victory and gave added impetus to the prohibition movement's
drive for a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol nationwide.
in which a total of 6 justices concurred. The Court also affirmed the right of each state to regulate alcohol even to the extent of banning it completely. The case was a challenge to a West Virginia statute that banned shipments even for personal consumption.
Congress responded to the Supreme Court decision by immediately enacting legislation to make the District of Columbia "bone-dry."
Opponents of nationwide prohibition hoped the Supreme Court decision demonstrated that the ability of each state to exercise complete control over alcohol within its borders would make a constitutional amendment superfluous. "It is better," said the New York Times, "that prohibition laws should be made effective in communities that want them than that by a Federal amendment the rule of prohibition should be extended over unwilling States."
The Supreme Court added a further decision upholding the law in its next term in a case involving a North Carolina
statute requiring railroads to maintain records of liquor shipments and recipients.
and the Volstead Act
. With the movement to repeal prohibition by the adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
, the question of the Act's validity and enforcement became a political and policy issue once again. The Act was cited as a protection that would shelter dry states if prohibition were repealed.
Text
The statute reads:- The shipment or transportation, in any manner or by any means whatsoever of any spirituous, vinous, malted, fermented, or other intoxicating liquor of any kind from one State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, into any other State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, which said spirituous, vinous, malted, fermented, or other intoxicating liquor is intended by any person interested therein, to be received, possessed, sold, or in any manner used, either in the original package, or otherwise, in violation of any law of such State, Territory, or District of the United States, or place noncontiguous to, but subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is hereby prohibited.
Enactment
The law was named for its principal sponsors, DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Rep. Edwin Y. Webb of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Sen. William S. Kenyon of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. Congress passed the legislation and sent it to the President on February 18, 1913. Ten days later, on February 28, 1913, President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, in the closing days of his administration, vetoed the law on constitutional grounds, believing that it delegated to the individual states the federal government's exclusive right to regulate interstate commerce. He submitted with his veto an opinion by Attorney General George W. Wickersham
George W. Wickersham
George Woodward Wickersham was an American lawyer and Presidential Cabinet Secretary.-Biography:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
. The Senate overrode his veto the same day by a vote of 63 to 21, and the House of Representatives did so by a vote of 246 to 85 on March 1, 1913.
The law did not simply prohibit the transport of alcoholic beverages into "dry" states, that is, states that banned alcohol. At the time of its passage and for years afterward, states varied greatly in their regulation of alcohol. Few banned alcohol entirely and were "bone-dry." Some allowed liquor to be ordered by mail but limited the amount per month per person or prohibited its receipt by businesses. They differed as well in their definitions of such beverages by alcohol content. The Webb-Kenyon Act established the federal government's endorsement of the right of each state to control the receipt, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages within its jurisdiction.
Its passage, followed shortly by the passage of an income tax, was recognized as a major progressive victory and gave added impetus to the prohibition movement's
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
drive for a constitutional amendment to ban alcohol nationwide.
Constitutionality
The act faced challenges in the courts and the courts differed in their consideration of its constitutionality. Some lower courts declared complete bans on alcohol at the state level unconstitutional. The Supreme Court finally delivered an opinion of the Act on January 8, 1917. The Court sustained the Act by a vote of 7 to 2 in a decision by Chief Justice WhiteEdward Douglass White
Edward Douglass White, Jr. , American politician and jurist, was a United States senator, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason standard of antitrust law. He also sided with the...
in which a total of 6 justices concurred. The Court also affirmed the right of each state to regulate alcohol even to the extent of banning it completely. The case was a challenge to a West Virginia statute that banned shipments even for personal consumption.
Congress responded to the Supreme Court decision by immediately enacting legislation to make the District of Columbia "bone-dry."
Opponents of nationwide prohibition hoped the Supreme Court decision demonstrated that the ability of each state to exercise complete control over alcohol within its borders would make a constitutional amendment superfluous. "It is better," said the New York Times, "that prohibition laws should be made effective in communities that want them than that by a Federal amendment the rule of prohibition should be extended over unwilling States."
The Supreme Court added a further decision upholding the law in its next term in a case involving a North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
statute requiring railroads to maintain records of liquor shipments and recipients.
Repeal of prohibition
The Webb-Kenyon Act became irrelevant with the adoption of national prohibition under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionEighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
and the Volstead Act
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was the enabling legislation for the Eighteenth Amendment which established prohibition in the United States...
. With the movement to repeal prohibition by the adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
, the question of the Act's validity and enforcement became a political and policy issue once again. The Act was cited as a protection that would shelter dry states if prohibition were repealed.