Volstead, Andrew

Volstead, Andrew (John)

(1860–1947) U.S. representative; born in Kenyon, Minn. Trained to be a Lutheran minister, he became a lawyer instead (1884) and entered Republican politics in Granite Falls, Minn. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1903–23) he guarded the interests of wheat farmers. In 1919 he persuaded Congress to override President Wilson's veto to secure passage of the Volstead Act, which prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages until repealed in 1933. He worked to enforce prohibition after leaving Congress.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.