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40 Historical Markers on the Road to Prohibition

Khalid Elhassan December 2, 2019 31 min

Black and white - Monochrome — 19th century Brewery. Pintrest

37. Floating in an Alcoholic Haze Was an Accepted Part of the Social Background

George Washington’s farewell toast to his officers. New York Historical Society

For many, Americans’ love of alcohol was accepted as part of the country’s social fabric. James Madison drank a pint of whiskey each day, John Adams kicked off his mornings with a tankard of hard cider, and George Washington kept a still in Mount Vernon. In the early days of the Republic, the tolling of bells at 11 AM and 4 PM was known as “grog time“. Since 1782, US Army soldiers received four ounces of whiskey every day, as part of their ration.

In towns and cities, it was commonly understood and accepted that most workers would not show up for work on Mondays, because they were too hungover from a weekend bender. In the countryside, Johnny Appleseed had scattered seeds in Indiana and Ohio that produced apples that were quite inedible, but when fermented, they were quite drinkable as hard cider.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.