The prohibition or "dry" movement began in the 1840s, spearheaded by pietistic religious denominations, especially the Methodists. After some success in the 1850s, the movement lost strength. It revived in the 1880s with the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibition Party. After 1900 many states, especially in the South, enacted prohibition, along with many counties. Hostility to saloons and their political influence was characteristic of the Progressive Era. Supported by the anti-German mood of World War I, the Anti-Saloon League, working with both major parties, pushed a Constitutional amendment through Congress and the states, taking effect in 1920.

From 1920 to 1933, the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes" was prohibited in the United States. However, note that according to the text, the purchase, possession and consumption of alcohol was not prohibited. This was most commonly referred to as the Dry Law. Nationwide prohibition was accomplished by means of the Eighteenth Amendment to the national Constitution (ratified January 16, 1919) and the Volstead Act (passed October 28, 1919). Prohibition began on January 16, 1920.

The 18th amendment was repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment on December 5, 1933. The 18th Amendment is the only amendment to be repealed by another amendment of the Constitution. States have the right to restrict or ban the purchase and sale of alcohol; this has led to a patchwork of laws, in which alcohol may be legally sold in some but not all towns or counties within a particular state. Mississippi, which went dry in 1907, was the last state to repeal prohibition, in 1966. There are numerous "dry" counties or towns where no liquor may be sold, although it can legally be brought in for private consumption.