who was president the prohibition of alcohol went into effect
Prohibition in the United States On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, the popular name for the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The act established the legal definition of intoxicating liquors as well as penalties for producing them.[11] Although the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, the federal government lacked resources to enforce it.