On this day in 1889, North Dakota elected its first state officials and approved its first Constitution. Within the Constitution, but subject to a separate vote, was an article prohibiting the sale of alcohol, which narrowly passed.

South Dakotans managed to repeal their anti-alcohol law six years later, but in North Dakota, prohibitionists managed to keep the issue away from voters for more than four decades. Then, on September 21, 1933, the state held a special election in which residents voted against a proposed sales tax and the showing of movies on Sundays. However, they overwhelmingly voted in favor of the manufacture, sale and distribution of beer.

Source: Bismarck Tribune. 23 and 26 Sep 1933.

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