George Will notes (in what is actually an outstanding column on the drug war):
In “Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson,” historian David S. Reynolds writes that in 1820, Americans spent on liquor a sum larger than the federal government’s budget. By the mid-1820s, annual per capita consumption of absolute alcohol reached seven gallons, more than three times today’s rate. “Most employers,” Reynolds reports, “assumed that their workers needed strong drink for stimulation: a typical workday included two bells, one rung at 11 a.m. and the other at 4 p.m., that summoned employees for alcoholic drinks.”
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Drinking twice a day at work? Now that sounds like fun! What a shame that Jackson was more of a militarist and would-be dictator than his feud with the central bank at the time may indicate..
pen15
Someone arrives on cocaine, ready to work, putting his hung-over coworkers to shame.
Ah, sweet Liberty!
I have to wonder how much of this drinking was related to actually keeping people (workers) healthy. One of the major vectors for disease in the past was drinking water. Consequently, a little alcohol in your water could definitely be good for you. This was also one of the major reasons for the tea and coffee trade (allowed you to give boiled water some flavor, along with a caffeine boost).
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