About now, some taxpayers may be shaking, stirring or pouring out a cocktail to celebrate today’s end of the official tax filing season today (though those who have requested an extension, like me, still have some work to do). That’s a more fitting act than you might think. It turns out that the modern income tax system—quite accidentally—transformed American drinking culture.

The 16th Amendment Created the Modern Income Tax System

At the turn of the 20th century, Congress, under President William H. Taft, set out to create a new tax system. The 16th Amendment, which created the modern income tax system, got the nod from Congress in 1909 but would take four years to secure ratification by the necessary number of states. By law, a proposed amendment becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the states. At the time, ratification required 36 states (38 of 50 states would be needed to ratify the Constitution today).

On February 3, 1913, Delaware became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. Eventually, 42 of the 48 states ratified it (Alaska and Hawaii weren’t yet states, Florida and Pennsylvania refused to consider it, and Connecticut, Rhode Island, Utah, and Virginia voted no).

The text was simple: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

The result? The modern income tax system.

Income Taxes Led To Drinking (But Not For The Reasons You Think)

With new income tax revenue, the country was no longer dependent on excise taxes, including those on alcohol. With that, Congress decided it could now afford the 18th Amendment, better known as Prohibition.

Prohibition was a nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors. The goal was to reduce crime and corruption, but it actually did the opposite, leading to widespread bootlegging, organized crime, and speakeasies (hidden bars).

The actual text of the 18th Amendment was short and left some important gaps. For example, it did not define key terms or explain how the new law would be enforced. Enter the Volstead Act.

The Volstead Act, which also passed in 1919, defined “intoxicating liquor” as any beverage with more than 0.5% alcohol, meaning it applied not only to spirits but also to beer and wine. Named after Andrew Volstead, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, it set out rules, exceptions, and penalties and created the enforcement framework for Prohibition.

(Volstead would subsequently be voted out of office.)

The exceptions to Prohibition were narrowly tailored, but did offer some outs for creative souls. Alcohol remained legal for religious rituals (sacramental wine), medicinal purposes (doctors could prescribe "medicinal whiskey” even if they had not examined the patient), and scientific research and industrial manufacturing.

In October 1919, President Woodrow Wilson vetoed the Volstead Act. His reasons were largely technical—he felt that, post-war,........

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