Here is a concise summary of the provided transcript:
**Title:** The Story Behind the Uniform US Drinking Age of 21
**Summary:**
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the US had a patchwork of drinking ages across states, ranging from 18 to 21. However, with nearly 50,000 highway fatalities annually, including 25,000 drunk driving-related deaths, advocates like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) pushed for reform.
**Key Events:**
1. **Michael Jackson's involvement**: His music was used in anti-drunk driving PSAs.
2. **President Reagan's strategy**: Despite typically advocating for state-level solutions, he supported withholding 5% of federal highway funds from states that didn't adopt a 21-year-old drinking age.
3. **Legislative outcome**: The law passed, effectively creating a nationwide drinking age of 21, as most states couldn't afford to lose federal highway funding.
4. **Supreme Court ruling (1987)**: Upheld the law, stating Congress had the power to condition spending to promote general welfare, in this case, reducing youth drinking and driving.
**Result:** Studies largely agree that the higher drinking age has saved lives and reduced alcohol consumption, although some attribute the positive outcomes to broader cultural changes.
Here are the extracted key facts, numbered and in short sentences, excluding opinions:
**Historical Events & Dates**
1. The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution banned alcohol in 1920.
2. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, allowing alcohol again.
3. The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18, influencing drinking age laws.
4. Candy Lightner founded MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) in 1980.
5. Michael Jackson was honored at the White House in 1984 for his anti-drunk driving PSA.
**Drinking Age Laws & Statistics**
6. In the late 1960s, many US states had a drinking age of 21.
7. By the 1970s, some states lowered their drinking ages to 18, 19, or 20.
8. In 1983, New Jersey raised its drinking age to 21, resulting in a 26% reduction in single-vehicle fatalities among 19- and 20-year-olds.
**Legislation & Court Rulings**
9. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 created a network of federally funded roads.
10. President Reagan supported legislation to withhold 5% of a state's highway funds if they didn't enact a 21-year-old drinking age.
11. The law passed, effectively creating a nationwide drinking age of 21.
12. Louisiana initially kept a drinking age of 18 due to a loophole, which was later closed.
13. South Dakota challenged the law in the Supreme Court, which ruled (7-2) in favor of Congress's power to control spending for general welfare.
**Miscellaneous**
14. Nearly 50,000 people were killed in US highways in the year mentioned (exact year not specified).
15. Drunk drivers were involved in 25,000 of those fatalities, plus 750,000 injuries annually.