Today in History—May 14: The Beer Parade That Helped End Prohibition

You’ve heard of “no taxation without representation,” but what about “beer for taxation”?

Yes, on this day in 1932, Americans took to the streets to demand more taxes.

Led by the mayor of New York City, Jimmy Walker, nearly 100,000 people paraded down Fifth Avenue, chanting “We want beer!”

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They were protesting the Eighteenth Amendment, ratified in 1919, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, import, or transport of alcohol. City Hall believed a massive public demonstration would show lawmakers just how strongly public sentiment had turned against the amendment, and organizers in NYC encouraged similar parades nationwide.

In 1920, when Prohibition first went into effect, the movement enjoyed broad support. With the end of World War I, it made sense to many people to blame alcohol for any remaining ills in society. Going dry seemed modern and fashionable.

But as the 1920s dragged on, the experiment soured. Bootlegging violence rose and organized crime flourished, while the stock market sank. The Great Depression wore on, and the people wanted beer—and tax revenue. Prohibition was costing local, state, and federal governments millions in lost taxes every year. The only ones making money on alcohol now were gangsters.

The argument became surprisingly practical: Let’s get back to selling beer legally, tax it, and pump desperately needed funds back into the economy to create jobs.

The Fifth Avenue parade was scheduled for noon, but marchers surged forward early. Bands and musicians were stationed along the route, and when the live sets ended, trucks blasted records through loudspeakers. Marchers came from every level of society, from students to labor leaders to Civil War veterans, many dressed in uniform. They lunched in Central Park along the route.

They were still chanting at midnight: “Who wants beer?” “We do!”

Similar demonstrations attracted thousands in Chicago, Boston, Milwaukee, Detroit, and other cities.

And the movement rippled. Democratic presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt saw the tide of public opinion and promised not to stand in the way of Prohibition’s repeal.

Within a year, as president, he signed legislation allowing sales of low-alcohol beer and wine. Less than a year after that, Prohibition was officially over.

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