Alcoholism In Colonial America Essay

Alcoholism The Reform slightly altered the term “freedom” for many Northerners. The Reform controlled parts of an individual’s life. During the reform, Protestants preached the gospel of God’s view of freedom. They claimed that God’s view of freedom implies that a person is free when they have control of themselves, self-control. Meaning that a person who has self-control can morally live the life that God wants them to live. If a person did not have self – control and did not live morally for God, then that person was accused of living in sin. One of the biggest sins that Protestants felt was unmoral, was the consumption of alcohol. This view led a movement across the north called the Temperance Movement. “In the nineteenth- century, the consumption of alcohol was a large amount for just one person. On average, a person drunk 7 gallons of alcohol per year.”
Drinking alcohol was more of a social status. The more a person had or kept up with the latest beverage, they were considered to have a good social status. Drinking was a common fad at social events. In the article, “Drinking in Colonial America”, the editor Ed Crew explains the reasons why colonials consumed so much and where alcohol was mostly used. Crew says that alcohol was consumed at events such as: christenings, weddings, funerals and even political events. Alcohol was used as a bribe at political events. “Candidates tempted voters with free drinks.” (Crew). Women drank when they had social gatherings and even children drank (mostly young boys), however, when they had permission to do so. For women, it was used at occasions to show as having good hospitality. Younger boys drank alcohol because it was one way to show their father that they were “becoming a man”. As you can see, drinking was everywhere and it was common to do. One of the biggest reasons why colonials had various amounts of alcohol was because of recreational