73rd United States Congress - Constitutional Amendments

Constitutional Amendments

• The Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution became effective in January 1934. It had been ratified during the previous Congress on January 23, 1933. The amendment changed both the date for convening Congress and the date for beginning each term. Thus the first session of the 73rd Congress convened in March 1933, but the second session convened in January 1934.
• The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on December 5, 1933. This amendment repealed the eighteenth amendment which mandated national prohibition in the United States, which had been in effect since the Volstead Act of 1919. The amendment is unusual due to the fact that it ratified by convention of states instead of the state legislatures.