Claim Citation Readiness
Claim Count
2
Claim Fact-Check Status
Claims
Contributors
Date Precision
Exact day
Destination URL
Display Date
October 28, 1919
End Sort Year
1919
Era
Prohibition and Repeal
Event ID
76
Evidence Confidence
Strong
Featured?
Geography
Washington, D.C., United States
Historical Significance
Supplied the federal statutory definitions and enforcement framework for constitutional Prohibition.
Last Reviewed
September 2, 2026
Publication Status
Published
Record Type
Event
Research Notes
The Act’s 0.5 percent alcohol threshold comes from the implementing statute, not the constitutional amendment. The Senate completed its override action on October 28; some chronologies display the House and Senate sequence as October 28–29.
Scope
American Whiskey Core
Start Sort Year
1919
Summary
Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson’s veto and enacted the National Prohibition Act, commonly called the Volstead Act, on October 28, 1919.
Thematic Lanes
Law and TaxationBusiness and MarketsCulture and Consumption
Timeline Date
October 28, 1919
Evidence anchor
Complete National Prohibition Act, 41 Stat. 305–323, fully visually reviewed and preserved in Notion.
Drafting guardrail
Attribute the 0.5 percent definition and enforcement machinery to the Act, not the Eighteenth Amendment.