<P> Upon being approved by a 36th state on January 16, 1919, the amendment was ratified as a part of the Constitution . </P> <P> The Wartime Prohibition Act took effect June 30, 1919, with July 1, 1919, becoming known as the "Thirsty - First". </P> <P> 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 . Although the Volstead Act prohibited the sale of alcohol, the federal government lacked resources to enforce it . </P> <P> By the terms of the amendment, the country went dry one year later, on January 17, 1920 . </P>

Who was president the prohibition of alcohol went into effect