3.2.1 Recovery

Beer legalization in the spring of 1933 was instituted as an economic measure. With the economy in its fourth year of downward spiral, and a quarter of the US workforce unemployed, it was time for something new—or perhaps something brew. In fact, the economy had bottomed out at the very moment of the “beer bill’s[lak]Beer Bill passage” and the four-month recovery that followed is by far the sharpest incline in US history. While beer legalization was not the only factor behind this economic surge, it played a major role in it. This chapter documents the various jobs that were directly tied to beer’s return, such as those in breweries, bars, as well as firms that made glass bottles, kegs, and refrigeration equipment, among other items. But the largest economic stimulus of beer’s return may have come from the psychological lift that it brought the nation. As one newspaper said, beer’s return “has started a boom the like of which has not been seen in four long years… the optimism, the enthusiasm reflected everywhere, show a complete change of heart, a new hope.” Economists have long contended that swings in mood have powerful economic effects. In fact, the recovery that began in spring 1933 has long been attributed to a rapid turnaround in expectations—and beer’s return was major cause of that.