Numerous problems with enforcement[1] and a desire to create jobs and raise tax revenue by legalizing beer, wine, and liquor[2] led a majority of voters and members of Congress to turn against Prohibition by late 1932.

[4] Now, however, 64 "wet" Republicans formed a caucus in the House of Representatives to work with Democrats (who had a slim majority after winning a number of special elections) to seek modification or repeal.

[5] The Democrats also changed the rules of the House, adopting a discharge petition procedure which would force a bill to the floor for a vote if 145 members requested it.

Among the bills filed at the start of the session was one by Senator Hiram Bingham III (R-Conn.), which amended the Volstead Act to permit the manufacture of beer which was 4 percent alcohol by weight.

[6] Republican "wets" were able to win a minor victory on December 23, 1931, when they secured an agreement establishing a subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee which would hold hearings regarding modification of the Volstead Act and repeal of the 18th Amendment.

[7] "Wets" won another victory a few days later when the Senate Committee on Manufactures agreed to hold hearings on Bingham's 4 percent beer bill.

Bingham's bill therefore proposed submitting the amendment to the public via a national referendum or ratification by conventions specially elected by voters in each state.

[10] In response, a bipartisan caucus of "wets" decided to submit a plan to modify the 18th Amendment according to the recommendations issued in 1931 by the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement (the Wickersham Commission), a panel established by President Herbert Hoover to study law enforcement problems under Prohibition.

A week after the defeat of the Bingham repeal proposal, House "wets" began drafting legislation to amend the Volstead Act to permit the manufacture of beer once more.

[14] Congressional "wets" received a major boost on February 20 when a leading Democratic candidate for president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, announced he supported repeal of the 18th Amendment as a means of generating tax revenues for the federal government and states.

On February 16, the House Judiciary Committee had voted 14-to-9 against the Beck-Linthicum resolution, which would have asked state legislatures to reaffirm or repeal the 18th Amendment.

[16] House "wets" then shocked political leaders in both sides on February 25 by obtaining 110 signatures on a discharge petition for the Beck-Linthicum resolution.

[18] The Beck-Linthicum resolution received 187 votes, resulting in the smallest majority "drys" had managed to muster since the start of Prohibition.

On March 19, Blaine's Judiciary subcommittee favorably reported a bill by Senator Bingham proposing the legalization of 4 percent beer.

Although a majority of delegates to the 1932 Republican National Convention, held in Chicago June 14 to 16, were in favor of repealing the 18th Amendment, President Hoover was not.

A compromise was reached in which the convention adopted a party platform plank which advocated amending Prohibition to permit states to follow the law in whole or in part (subject to federal control).

[31] At the 1932 Democratic National Convention, held in Chicago from June 27 to July 2, an overwhelming majority supported a repeal of the 18th Amendment.

[32] Franklin D. Roosevelt, the party's nominee for President of the United States, campaigned strongly in favor of repeal.

[40] Rep. John W. Summers (R-Wash.), "dry" chair of the House Judiciary Committee, now believed it was inevitable that the 18th Amendment would be resubmitted to the states.

[41] Speaker of the House John Nance Garner believed Congress would approve the sale of beer by the end of the session.

[42] Prominent "wets" in the Senate were less hopeful, as their forces were divided between supporting modification of the Volstead Act and outright repeal of the 18th Amendment.

[58] Although Democratic Party whips had counted 275 votes in favor of repeal,[59] the resolution failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority.

[63][f] Rep. James M. Beck (R-Pa.), co-sponsor of the Beck-Linthicum bill (which had gone down to defeat nine months earlier), believed the House would have adopted Garner's resolution if he had not tried to force the issue on the first day of the lame-duck session.

The bill was amended to prohibit legal sales of wine, but attempts to include a ban on bars and saloons were beaten back.

[66] Although proposed amendments threatened to split "wet" ranks,[67] the House passed the Collier bill on December 21 by a surprising large margin of 230 to 165.

[76] The new text was sharply criticized by repeal advocates, who saw the new ratification procedure as a breach of faith[74] and who strongly objected to the concurrent federal power granted in section three.

Senator Tydings attempted to prevent Congress from taxing any intoxicating beverage it chose to prohibit, but his amendment was rejected in a voice vote.

[91] Senator Thomas Gore (D-Okla.) attempted to amend section two to bar the sale of intoxicating beverages for private profit, but his motion was rejected by voice vote.

Majority Leader Rainey called an immediate meeting of the Democratic caucus, and Speaker Garner said he intended to seek suspension of the rules in order to bring repeal to a quick vote[94] and to bar any attempt to amend the resolution on the floor.