A new exhibit looks at the history of drinking in America.
The Puritans get a bad rap in America - especially when it comes to alcohol. They are generally blamed for putting the dampeners on any form of fun, and many people assume that it was the nation's puritanical roots coming to the surface when Prohibition was introduced in 1917.
But while they weren't exactly party animals, a new exhibition at the US National Archives reveals that the Puritans actually approved of drink.
"One of the things we understand now is that the initial ship that came over from England to Massachusetts Bay actually carried more beer than water," says Bruce Bustard, senior curator of Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History.
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3 comments:
because in the good ol' days, we weren't quitters.
I took a tour of the Wye Mill a few years ago, which is the longest continually operating (about 1680) gristmill in the United States. As I was the only for tourist, the docent and I had a hour long conversation about times for farmers in the area in the early days. It was backbreaking work, day in and day out. He said that one thing was available as a tonic to help return people to work the next day, including children over the age of five, was alcohol in the form of beer. Without it, he said, the Country wouldn't be what it is today.
Nowdays we smoke all day long and it's legal. We are the new OC bus driver
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