Andrew Volstead

Andrew Volstead

Andrew John Volstead (born October 31, 1860 in Kenyon , Goodhue County , Minnesota , †  January 20, 1947 in Granite Falls , Minnesota) was an American politician . Between 1903 and 1923 he represented the state of Minnesota in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Andrew Volstead was born to parents of Norwegian descent. He attended the county schools of his home country and then St. Olaf College in Northfield . Until 1881 he continued his education at the Decorah Institute . After a subsequent law degree and his admission as a lawyer in 1883, he began to work in Lac qui Parle County in his new profession. In 1885, Volstead moved to Grantsburg , Wisconsin . A year later, he returned to Minnesota, where he settled in Granite Falls. There he became a member and president of the school committee. He also became the legal representative of his new hometown. Between 1886 and 1902, Volstead was a district attorney in Yellow Medicine County . He served as Mayor of Granite Falls from 1900 to 1902.

Politically, Volstead was a member of the Republican Party . In the congressional elections of 1902 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the seventh constituency of Minnesota , where he succeeded Frank Eddy on March 4, 1903 . After nine re-elections, he was able to complete ten consecutive terms in Congress by March 3, 1923 in 20 years . Between 1919 and 1923 he was chairman of the legal committee. During his time in the US House of Representatives, World War I took place. At that time the 16th , 17th , 18th and 19th amendments to the constitution were discussed and passed. It was about the nationwide introduction of an income tax, the direct election of US senators , the ban on alcohol trafficking and the nationwide introduction of women's suffrage . Volstead was instrumental in the creation of the 18th amendment to the constitution, the alcohol ban. This law also came to be known by his name as the Volstead Act . The law later proved impracticable and fueled the rise of organized crime, which made a fortune smuggling alcohol. In 1933, prohibition was repealed with the 21st amendment to the constitution .

In the 1922 election, Volstead lost to Ole J. Kvale . In the following years he worked again as a lawyer. He died on January 20, 1947 in Granite Falls and was buried there.

Web links

• Andrew Volstead in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Andrew Volstead in the database of Find a Grave (English)

• The Volstaed Prohibitions Act on the Atlanta Bourbon Company's blog (German)