Benjamin Rush's Moral Thermometer

Alcohol was easily accessible because of all of the taverns located along the roads for the road workers. It was also more affordable, apple cider was easy to make because of the abundant amounts of apples grown in the area, and it was easy to transport over the mountains. The people considered water, and milk difficult to obtain, and more of a hazard to drink because of the diseases they carried. Coffee and tea were still more expensive than alcohol, and it was given at every event you could think of (ex: auctions, meetings, funerals, and weddings).
Benjamin Rush’s moral thermometer is a scale of all the alcoholic beverages. It gives you some insight on how alcohol has an effect on the human mind, and body; whether it be for healthy development,
They were possibly big drinkers at one time and wanted to make a change. The women led all kinds of discussions about the dangers of alcohol, the benefits of sobriety, and moralizing children’s books.
The temperance (anti-alcohol) movement attempted to create a dry nation by recruiting men and women to sign pledges and to stop drinking. They believed and pushed that abstinence was the best way to keep away from the evils of alcohol.
Some alternatives to alcohol were hard cider, wine, and beer. Those recommended by Dr. Rush because they had a lower alcohol content than whiskey, rum, and gin, and they were fermented from fruits, and sugars.
The temperance pledge was a pledge of abstinence or teetotalism to rid the people of the horrible effects of alcohol. The making and selling of alcohol was banned.
Disease was so big back then already, and to add alcohol in the mix just made everything worse. I’m sure the song makes anyone think twice about drinking when they realize how much it put their families at risk. After hearing the song, and that the son had passed away it makes you think, that it could all have been avoided if the father hadn’t been out drinking all