Review: The Alcoholic Republic

The Alcoholic Republic - An American Tradition by William Rorabaugh follows the culture of alcohol in the United States from the revolutionary period to the mid-nineteenth century. Rorabaugh uses many sources, from general store records to temperance pamphlets to assert his argument that during the radical changes experienced during this time contributed greatly to the rise in the use of alcohol. He also uses sociological and psychological methods allowing him to “draw conclusions concerning the psychology and social behavior of Americans in that period” (p. xii). This work is well researched but, unfortunately, some of his arguments fall short.

In the first chapters, Rorabaugh discusses how widespread the use of alcohol was in the new republic. It would seem that every waking moment of an American’s day is filled with alcohol, from breakfast to dinner, and many times in between. They use alcohol as medicine, they use it to entertain and impress their peers, they even apparently use it to get elected to public office. The use of spirits was even seen by some as a gift from god, as the quote Rorabaugh chose to precede chapter two shows us.¹

He goes on to explain that the excessive use of alcohol is also an extension of the American spirit of independence. By choosing to drink to the point of intoxication, Rorabaugh tells us that the average American was exercising his right to be free, as well as escaping the stresses of everyday life. He even goes far as to intone that the only time early Americans were ever truly free, is when they chose to get drunk. “Because drinking was a matter of choice, it increased a man’s sense of autonomy. To be drunk was to be free” (p. 151). This is a bit of a stretch.

Rorabaugh continues on to assert that elections were just another excuse to get drunk for Americans. “Records for the period show that only a small percentage of eligible voters cast ballots, and we should not be surprised that many of those who did go to the polls chose to turn elections into farces by selling their votes for liquor” (p. 155). It seems to be a bit of a leap to assume that just because alcohol was served at an election or political rally that the participants were selling their votes for liquor.

There are several examples of how Rorabaugh seems to contradict himself. At some points in the book, Americans drink so much to demonstrate their freedom. At other points, it is simply a matter of Economics. For example, “corn sold for 25¢ a bushel in Kentucky, whiskey brought, after trip expenses, four times that amount in Philadelphia” (p. 79). Rorabaugh ignores the fact that American farmers were participating in the capitalist economy at this point, so their goods would naturally be used and sold in a way to maximize profits.

At several points throughout this work, Rorabaugh displays a bit of disdain for capitalism. It is not quite as blatant as some of Sellers' work²,but Rorabaugh also seems to support the theory that the ‘market revolution’ was responsible for the changes in America. This affected the use of Alcohol as well. The change in the daily routine apparently had such an adverse effect on factory workers that they “met these new conditions by turning to heavy drinking” (p. 131).

Examination of the appendices begs further questions as well. For example, for all of the information in tables A1.3, A1.4, and A1.5³, twelve of the seventeen samples are from Georgia. Three of the remaining five are from Massachusetts. This hardly seems representative of the entire nation at that point.

Rorabaugh raises some interesting questions in The Alcoholic Republic. One would have to question whether his assumptions are correct, though. Throughout the book, he uses somewhat contradictory arguments and evidence to support his arguments. As we have seen, he uses selective and unrepresentative samples for his sources. It seems a bit of a stretch to assume that the use of Alcohol in the United States was proportionately higher than in other nations. Again, by examining Appendix A2.4⁴, we see that the United States consumed less than Sweden, France and Italy, and at several points, less than the United Kingdom. It is also interesting to note that the only table used to compare the United States to other Nations which encompasses the period discussed is table A2.1 – distilled sprits (p. 238). All of the others begin in 1839. This work seems to serve more as a study of why distilled spirits were so popular in America⁵.

Footnotes

1. “Drink is in itself a creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness.” – Increase Mather, 1673. Page 23.

2. See Review of The Market Revolution: Jacksonian America, 1815 – 1846.

3. Pages 234-236

4. although less popular than in Sweden, Page 238

5. See table A2.1, page 238