The Bureau of Prohibition (or Prohibition Unit) was the federal law enforcement agency formed to enforce the National Prohibition Act of 1919, commonly known as the Volstead Act, which backed up the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution regarding the prohibition of the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. When it was first established in 1920, it was a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (or Internal Revenue Service as it is known today). In 1927, it became an independent entity within the Department of the Treasury, changing its name from the Prohibition Unit to the Bureau of Prohibition. This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. ... For the band, see The Police. ... The National Prohibition Act of 1919, more popularly known as the Volstead Act, enforced the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, dealing with the prohibition of alcohol. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Amendment XVIII (the Eighteenth Amendment) of the United States Constitution, along with the Volstead Act (which defined intoxicating liquors), established Prohibition in the United States. ... The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The United States Constitution is self-defined as the supreme law of the United States of America, along with laws made in pursuance of the Constitution, and treaties with foreign nations. ... Prohibition is any of several periods during which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ... Bottles of cachaça, a Brazilian alcoholic beverage. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 3 - Babe Ruth is traded by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees for $125,000, the largest sum ever paid for a player at that time. ... Seal of the Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the United States government agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax laws. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The United States Department of the Treasury is a Cabinet department, a treasury, of the United States government established by an Act of U.S. Congress in 1789 to manage the revenue of the United States government. ...

Its investigators were called "Prohibition Agents," or more colloquially "prohis." Its most famous agent was Eliot Ness. Some of the other famous lawmen who carried a "Prohi's" badge at one time of another in their career include former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, full-blooded Cherokee Tom Threepersons, and Chicagoan Pat Roche. The two-agent team of Isidor "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith, working out of the NYC office, compiled the best arrest record in the history of the agency. Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Treasury agent, famous for his efforts to enforce Prohibition in Chicago, Illinois as the leader of a legendary team nicknamed The Untouchables. ... Texas Rangers, a body of law enforcement in the state of Texas which is the oldest law enforcement body in North America with statewide jurisdiction and serves as a State Bureau of Investigation. ... Frank Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was a Texas Ranger, perhaps most well known for his involvement with the tracking down and killing of the outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... Izzy (Isadore) Einstein (1880–1938) and Moe Smith (died 1961) were American policemen during the first years of the alcohol prohibition era (1920–1925). ... New York, New York redirects here. ...

In 1930 the Prohibition Bureau was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice. Early in 1933, as part of the FDR-sponsored "Omnibus Crime Bill," the Prohibition Bureau was briefly absorbed into the FBI, or "Division of Investigation" as the agency was then called. At this point it became the "Alcohol Beverage Unit." Though part of the FBI on paper, J. Edgar Hoover, who wanted to avoid liquor enforcement and the taint of corruption that was attached to it, continued to operate it as a separate, autonomous agency in practice. 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... DOJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. Justice Department redirects here. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... FDR may refer to: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - The 32nd President of the United States, Flight data recorder - device used to record aircraft and pilot behavior in order to analyze accidents (usually called black boxes by the news media). ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Hoover in 1961 John Edgar Hoover KBE (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was the founder of the FBI in its present form and its director from May 10, 1924 until his death in 1972. ...

Following the repeal of Prohibition in December 1933, the Alcohol Beverage Unit was removed from the the FBI and the Justice Department, and returned to Treasury, where, coming full circle, it became the Alcohol Tax Unit of the IRS, ultimately evolving into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). A repeal is the removal or reversal of a law. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE or ATFE) is a law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. ...

See also

• Prohibition
• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
• Federal Bureau of Investigation