National Minimum Drinking Age Act - History

History

Legislation concerning the legal minimum drinking age in the United States can be traced back to the days of prohibition. In 1920, the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution declared it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell intoxicating liquors. This was repealed with the passing of the 21st amendment in 1933, which was followed by the adoption of minimum legal drinking age policies in all states, with most states electing a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21. Between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the MLDA from 21 to 18, 19, or 20. This was primarily due to the passing of the 26th Amendment which lowered the required voting age from 21 to 18.

However, these changes were soon followed by studies showing an increase in motor vehicle fatalities attributable to the decreased MLDA. In response to these findings, many states returned the minimum legal drinking age to 21. In 1984, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Act, written by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and influenced by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), required all states to enforce a minimum legal drinking age of 21 or else risk losing 10% of all federal highway construction funds. As the minimum legal drinking age was still left to the discretion of the state, the act did not violate the 10th amendment, meant to reserve all responsibilities not specifically appointed to the federal government for the states. However, as the act controlled the distribution of anywhere from 8 to 99 million dollars, depending on the size of the state, for all intents and purposes the act mandated a minimum legal drinking age of 21. By 1988, all 50 states and DC were in compliance, but Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (and Guam until 2010) remained at 18 despite the loss of highway funding.