Partying like is 1899
The U.S. has always had the attitude in life that everything was just one big party. The weapon of choice in this party was alcohol. Before the onset of Prohibition the nation was deluged by a terrible problem. Drinking had already become more than a large issue. It is said that in the 1830’s on average, Americans over the age of 15 were guzzling seven gallons of pure alcohol each year. This was the equivalent of 90 bottles of 80-proof liquor which was about four shots every day. This was three times higher than today’s current levels, and is still the highest measured volume of consumption in U.S. history.
Puritans and Prohibition?
The problem with alcohol started when American colonists brought their thirst with them to the New World. The ship Arabella, which arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, had more than 10,000 gallons of wine in its hold for 700 settlers. It also carried three times as much beer as wine. By the 1800’s, some people had grown concerned about the widespread use, and abuse, of alcohol. Temperance organizations tried to persuade Americans to limit their drinking. Over the past several decades, the movement would become one of the most powerful political forces in U.S. history.
In the 1800’s it was said that the country was swimming and nearly drowning in liquor. A barrel of hard cider set by the door of thousands of farmhouses, available to everyone in the family. In many cities, the tolling of a bell at 11 a.m. and again at 4 p.m. marked “grog time,” when workers were granted an alcohol- soaked break. And the wealthy might drink their evenings away in hotel dining rooms or at lavish dinner parties. The consequence of this national binge would be server.
For some members of the middle and upper classes, social drinking in the home was a sign of respectability and sophistication. Etiquette manuals and cookbooks detailed elaborate menus with recommend alcoholic beverages for each course. From garden parties to formal suppers, most social meals were awash in wine, Champagne, cordials, and punch. Whether or not they engaged in social drinking, many respectable women “home remedies,” with high alcoholic content. Sometimes this led to abuse.
The saloon was a male-only institution. In cities it was a gathering place for working-class immigrants and often doubled as a hiring for longshoremen and similar occupations. Urban saloons also became the headquarters for political organizations. In mining towns and lumber camps out West, the saloon was simultaneously a social hall, a place to pick up your mail or cash your check, and the front for a brothel. These public drinking establishments could be found in nearly every town and city across the country. In between 1870-1900, as millions of immigrants flocked to the U.S., it is estimated the number of saloons nationwide increased from 100,000 to 300,000. Men gathered in saloons to escape their responsibilities on an ocean of beer and booze. Some drank away their family’s income; their drunkenness would put their jobs in peril. Returning from long bouts of drinking, some men abused their wives and children .
Prohibition is said to have failed because it was never illegal to drink during prohibition. The only thing that was stopping the movement of the liquor but once it had reached its destination people had no problem drinking the liquor at underground clubs. And people did just that the partied like nothing had changed and to some people it must have seemed like alcohol wasn’t even illegal during that time.
In the 1800’s it was said that the country was swimming and nearly drowning in liquor. A barrel of hard cider set by the door of thousands of farmhouses, available to everyone in the family. In many cities, the tolling of a bell at 11 a.m. and again at 4 p.m. marked “grog time,” when workers were granted an alcohol- soaked break. And the wealthy might drink their evenings away in hotel dining rooms or at lavish dinner parties. The consequence of this national binge would be server.
For some members of the middle and upper classes, social drinking in the home was a sign of respectability and sophistication. Etiquette manuals and cookbooks detailed elaborate menus with recommend alcoholic beverages for each course. From garden parties to formal suppers, most social meals were awash in wine, Champagne, cordials, and punch. Whether or not they engaged in social drinking, many respectable women “home remedies,” with high alcoholic content. Sometimes this led to abuse.
The saloon was a male-only institution. In cities it was a gathering place for working-class immigrants and often doubled as a hiring for longshoremen and similar occupations. Urban saloons also became the headquarters for political organizations. In mining towns and lumber camps out West, the saloon was simultaneously a social hall, a place to pick up your mail or cash your check, and the front for a brothel. These public drinking establishments could be found in nearly every town and city across the country. In between 1870-1900, as millions of immigrants flocked to the U.S., it is estimated the number of saloons nationwide increased from 100,000 to 300,000. Men gathered in saloons to escape their responsibilities on an ocean of beer and booze. Some drank away their family’s income; their drunkenness would put their jobs in peril. Returning from long bouts of drinking, some men abused their wives and children .
Prohibition is said to have failed because it was never illegal to drink during prohibition. The only thing that was stopping the movement of the liquor but once it had reached its destination people had no problem drinking the liquor at underground clubs. And people did just that the partied like nothing had changed and to some people it must have seemed like alcohol wasn’t even illegal during that time.