Collection: Senator Blain Collection

Senator John J. Blaine of Wisconsin holds a significant place in the history of the modern American beer industry primarily through his pivotal role in ending national Prohibition. He authored the Blaine Act, the joint resolution that proposed the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ratification of the 21st Amendment in 1933 repealed the 18th Amendment, thereby nullifying federal Prohibition and, crucially, granting individual states the explicit authority to regulate the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within their own borders. This fundamental shift of power from federal to state control laid the essential groundwork for the diverse systems of alcohol regulation that would emerge across the country, including the now-prevalent three-tier system.

Therefore, Senator Blaine's importance to the three-tier system lies in his championing the constitutional change that empowered states to establish this regulatory framework, which continues to define the modern beer industry's structure in the United States.

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