the eighteenth amendment to the constitution had started a period in the us known as prohibition. during this time the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal. passage of the eighteenth amendment in 1919 was the chief goal of the temperance movement. but it soon proved highly unpopular. crime had soared under prohibition as gangsters, such as chicago's al capone, became rich from a very profitable black market for alcohol. the federal government was unable to enforce the volstead act. in 1932, wealthy industrialist john d. rockefeller, jr. stated in a letter: as more and more americans opposed the eighteenth amendment, a political movement grew for its repeal. however, repeal was complicated by grassroots politics. although the u.s. constitution provides two methods for ratifying constitutional amendments, only one method had been used up until that time. this was ratification by the state legislatures of three-fourths of the states. however, the wisdom of the day was that the lawmakers of many states were either obligated to or simply afraid of the temperance lobby. for that reason, when congress formally proposed the repeal of prohibition on february 20, 1933, it chose the "other" ratification method established by article v. that is by state conventions.