The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition

Book Review by Alisha Provost

William James Rorabaugh also known just as W.J. Rorabaugh is an American Historian who had studied both at Stanford and UC Berkley. Rorabough is a college professor of history at the University of Washington. W.J. Rorabaugh is also an author of several works including the book I read for this class which was The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition.

At first glance of the title I was excited to read this book. I mean who doesn’t want to learn about alcohol. I was hoping that is would be a personal document from someone who had lived during the time when drinking in America was heavy and about when Prohibition happened but then I started reading the first chapter which had thrown out so many numbers that I felt that this book was going to be a boring book that just told me how much Americans drank during 1790-1840.

I kept on reading and it became quite interesting because I was starting to learn just how much the consumption of alcohol had played a role in majority of people’s lives. It wasn’t just the rich that drank it was a common thing amongst all classes. It was cool to see the American diet, the causes of the consumption of alcohol, and the drastic change in people’s views toward alcohol. The book wasn’t just about numbers it became about how much of an impact something as little as alcohol could have on a whole country of people.

W.J. Rorabaugh starts the book off with a preface. The preface states Rorabaugh’s inspiration for writing this book. W.J. Rorabaugh had seen many other historians taking notice to alcohol and attacking it. This prompted Rorabaugh to see why historians were studying so much about our country’s consumption on alcohol but also to answer questions of his own. Though Rorabaugh’s goal of this book wasn’t to answer all the questions but to ask questions of his own that his reader’s would have to answer on their own based off of the information he presented in this book. Rorabaugh allows his readers to form conclusions and opinions of their own.

As Rorabaugh’s readers make their way through the book one will begin to see that the time period that Rorabaugh addresses are between the years of 1790-1840. During this time period the United States was amongst the top three countries to consume the most alcohol. Your race, sex, social class, and age didn’t matter. Majority of Americans were drinking rather it was alone, with others, in the public or in private individuals were consuming alcohol. Alcohol was also being used as rewards, or as bribing tools to win elections. Yes, you heard me. Candidates running in elections would try bribing individuals with alcohol just so that they could win an election. That idea made me angry because it wasn’t about who was the best fit for the position it was more about who will give me more alcohol so that I can try to erase all the stress that I am having.

Anxiety and stress were also big causes to why majority of Americans began drinking. It was the different social changes that made Americans uneasy because many didn’t know how to cope with them. During the time period that this book talked about one was able to see that the population was growing in speeds that lead to individuals not being prepared for. Due to the sudden increase in population it lead to many individuals having settle where there was no trading or traditional society, some were having to work in conditions they were not used to, isolation from others, immigrants facing critics that they were Americans now just because they lived in the United States when many felt other wises, etc. lead them feel like they were the “other.” The idea of being the “other,” is one of the most prominent reasons to why Americans began drinking.

Consumption of alcohol in the United States had also stemmed from the fact of the American diet. Americans during the time period of 1790-1840 had seen what we told feel as necessities such as water and milk as dangerous. This was because at this time there was no invention that would purify water so the only water individuals could get would be water from the Mississippi River which when poured into a glass has a lot of mud in it. Water from a well was another way of getting water but it would first have to sit in a glass for a while to let all the dirt settle to the bottom of the glass which took a while so the easy way out would be to drink alcohol. Milk was considered dangerous because some thought that the cows had diseases that would be present in the milk which in return would get the person who drank it ill too. Also since at this time there was no refrigeration milk would spoil which lead to unsettling results. Tea and coffee were also drinks that had tried to beat out the race of alcohol but they were not made in the United States so they were seen as unpatriotic.

Between the years of 1790-1840 one will see that there was this high demand for alcohol and how it was common for individuals to indulge in alcohol, but later towards 1840 it all of a sudden took a turn. Alcohol became known as “Demon Rum,” which led to a sudden stop of consuming and distilling alcohol. The reasons for this sudden change are still unclear and unanswered.

Overall, I thought that this book was quite interesting due to the fact that it was shocking to see just how much Americans drank and the reasons why they were drinking. It showed that there are times when we as individuals like to take the easy way out of things rather than just taking whatever comes to us and adapting to it.