Nationwide Prohibition in the United States lasted from 1920 until 1933, a total of 13 years. It began with the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment and the Volstead Act in January 1920, which banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition ended at the federal level with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment

. However, some states and localities continued to enforce their own prohibition laws for years after 1933. For example, Mississippi maintained prohibition laws until 1966, and Kansas did not lift its ban on public bars until 1987. In some places like Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, prohibition lasted much longer locally-until 1947 in that case

. In summary:

• Federal Prohibition: 1920–1933 (13 years)
• Some state/local prohibitions lasted decades longer after 1933

Thus, while the nationwide Prohibition era officially lasted 13 years, its effects and legal restrictions persisted in some areas for many more years.