The History of Drinking Alcohol in America - 2758 Words

In early America drinking alcohol was as common as eating. The water was not always clean and pure so people drank alcohol instead to be sure they wouldn’t catch any illnesses running through the water. This was until physicians realized how dangerous alcohol was and writers started to advertise alcohol as a poison. The next thing you know there are people against alcohol and many communities were being divided into people who drink and the people who don’t drink. This is when The Temperance movement began, which was a movement that wanted to either control the distribution and consumption of alcohol, or completely end the ability to drink alcohol. Due to society’s severe health problems, destitution, and crime in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, women blamed the abuse of alcohol and started The Temperance Movement. Even though the knowledge of the first ever used alcoholic beverage is unknown, it is known that the earliest alcoholic beverage was made from berries or honey. Wine came from wild grape regions from the Middle East. Beer and wine were used for a variety of purposes; such as, medicinal purposes, pleasure, nutrition, rituals, funerary purposes, to and even to cure fatigue. The first popular alcoholic beverage was made from honey and water. In the earlier times, seeing someone intoxicated was rare and unusual. Then came Christianity, and with it came more drinking attitudes, many biblical writings refer back to alcohol references. Wine wasShow MoreRelatedThe Drinking Age Should Remain 18 in Australia1563 Words   |  7 PagesThe Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia The Drinking Age Should Remain 18 Years Old in Australia These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. 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The prohibition law restricted the manufacturing, consumption, transportation, and sale of alcohol. The law was put into effect to lower the crime and corruption rates in the United States in the 1920s. It was also said to reduce social problems and lower taxes. In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the negative repercussions of prohibition on the economy, characters in the Great Gatsby, and on the different social classes of the 1920sRead MorePersuasive Es say On Underage Drinking1075 Words   |  5 PagesIn United States history, a major conflict in the 1900s started with the introduction of the 18th Amendment stating the prohibition of alcohol. â€Å"The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. However, this was not the case until 1984, when the National Minimum Drinking Age Act required the 50 states to raise their drinking age to 21 or lose 10 percent of their federal highway money. 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The thirteen year, dry period finally came to an end because of the temptation and social urges alcohol pursues. Throughout these thirteen years, people corruptly consumed, produced, and distributed alcohol as if the regulations instituted by the government were suggestions. After the Prohibition laws were lifted in 1993, the drinking age was set at twenty one but was laterRead MoreAlcohol Consumption And Underage Drinking1561 Words   |  7 PagesAlcohol consumption and underage drinking has been a major social problem and public health concern for centuries. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), â€Å"Alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,300 annual deaths among underage youth (Fact Sheets - Underage Drinking). Alcohol has alway s been part of our culture as well as a debatable topic in our society and the controversy