[antognini]

> The 18th amendment was added to the constitution not by some legislative need, but to make a politicized statement where another amendment to the constitution would be required to overturn it (the 21st in this case).

That's not really the case. At the time of the 18th amendment's adoption the prevailing legal interpretation of the Commerce Clause was that Congress lacked the power to regulate intrastate trade. So Congress could have prohibited the sale of alcohol across state lines, but could not prohibit the sale of alcohol within the boundaries of a state, and certainly could not have prohibited its production. It wasn't until 1942, in a reaction to Roosevelt's court packing scheme, when the Supreme Court reversed its interpretation and ruled that Congress does have the power to regulate intrastate economic activity (i.e., the production of a good that is not necessarily sold), giving us the modern legal interpretation of the Commerce Clause.