Promoting prohibition. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was established in 1874 to promote the movement for prohibition in the U.S. The WCTU spurred the founding in 1893 of the Anti-Saloon League. On December 18, 1917, the U.S. Congress adopted and submitted to the states an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic liquors. The 18th Amendment was declared ratified on January 29, 1919 and went into effect on January 16, 1920. It was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.