Cullen–Harrison Act
Other short titles |
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Long title | An Act to provide revenue by the taxation of certain nonintoxicating liquor, and for other purposes. |
Acronyms (colloquial) | CHA |
Nicknames | Cullen-Harrison Act of 1933 |
Enacted by | the 73rd United States Congress |
Effective | March 22, 1933 |
Citations | |
Public law | 73-3 |
Statutes at Large | 48 Stat. 16 |
Codification | |
Titles amended | 27 U.S.C.: Intoxicating Liquors |
U.S.C. sections created | 27 U.S.C. ch. 2A § 64a et seq. |
Legislative history | |
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The Cullen–Harrison Act, named for its sponsors, Senator Pat Harrison and Representative Thomas H. Cullen, enacted by the United States Congress March 21, 1933 and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt the following day, legalized the sale in the United States of beer with an alcohol content of 3.2% (by weight) and wine of similarly low alcohol content, thought to be too low to be intoxicating, effective April 7, 1933. Upon signing the legislation, Roosevelt made his famous remark, "I think this would be a good time for a beer."[1][2]
According to the Cullen-Harrison Act, each state had to pass similar legislation to legalize sale of the low alcohol beverages in that state. Roosevelt had previously sent a short message to Congress requesting such a bill. Sale of even such low alcohol beer had been illegal in the U.S. since Prohibition started in 1920 following the 1919 passage of the Volstead Act.[3] Throngs gathered outside breweries and taverns for their first legal beer in many years.[4] The passage of the Cullen–Harrison Act is celebrated as National Beer Day every year on April 7.
References
- ↑ "Post". fdrlibrary.tumblr.com. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ↑ Smith, Jean Edward (2007). F.D.R. New York, N.Y.: Random House. pp. 305, 316. ISBN 978-0-8129-7049-4. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ↑ Swain, Martha H. (2009). Pat Harrison: the New Deal years. University Press of Mississippi. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-60473-263-4.
- ↑ Courtaway, Robert (December–January 2008). "Wetter than the Mississippi". Missouri Life. Check date values in:
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External links
- Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: "Message to Congress on Repeal of the Volstead Act.," March 13, 1933". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.