The Spirits of America: A Social History of Alcohol

344 Pages·2003·0.84 MB·English

by  Eric Burns

T H E S P I R I T S
O F A M E R I C A
Also by Eric Burns
Non-Fiction
Broadcast Blues
The Joy of Books
Fiction
The Autograph
T H E S P I R I T S
O F A M E R I C A
A S O C I A L
H I S T O R Y O F
A L C O H O L
Eric Burns
Temple University Press
PHILADELPHIA
TempleUniversityPress,Philadelphia19122
Copyright©2004byTempleUniversity
Allrightsreserved
Published2004
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
(cid:2)(cid:2)The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National
StandardforInformationSciences—PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,
ANSIZ39.48–1984.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Burns,Eric.
ThespiritsofAmerica:asocialhistoryofalcohol/EricBurns.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN1-59213-214-6(cloth:alk.paper)
1.Drinkingofalcoholicbeverages—UnitedStates—History. 2Drinkingcustoms—
UnitedStates—History. 3.Temperance—UnitedStates—History. I.Title.
HV5292.B87 2004
394.1'3'0973—dc21 2003050790
246897531
To Toby
with love and respect
for what has passed
and all that will come

Contents
Introduction:TheSpiritsoftheWorld 1
1 TheFirstNationalPastime 7
2 TheGeneralandtheDoctor 47
3 TheFatherofProhibitionandOtherKinfolk 61
4 TheCrusadersandTheirCrusades 97
5 TheImportanceofBeingFrank 111
6 Hatchetation 127
7 TheWheeler-DealerandHisMen 147
8 TheBluesandHowTheyPlayed 187
9 ExecutiveSoftness 227
10 TheHummingbirdBeatstheOdds 257
Epilogue:StrangeBedfellows 287
Acknowledgments 301
Notes 303
SelectBibliography 321
Index 327

Introduction:
The Spirits of the World
T
housandsofyearsago,beforeChristorBuddhaorMuham-
mad, before democracy or industry or technology as we
know the terms today, before the Roman Empire rose or
the Colossus of Rhodes fell, before water wheels or pad-
dle wheel boats, before decimals or compasses, before the
firstdicewererolledorthefirstsheetmusicwascarvedinto
a cuneiform tablet, before sundials were invented or silver
coinsmintedorstonebridgesbuiltacrossrivers—beforeany
ofthishappenedandbeforemostofitwasevenaflashinthe
minds of madmen, there were people in Asia Minor drink-
ingbeer.Theyweredrinkingitaftertheyateandafterthey
worked their fields. They were drinking it to warm their
chillsandtocooltheirfeversandtoproducesensationsthat
they could produce in no other way, with no other food or
beverage or plant of the age. They were drinking it when
they conversed with one another and when they conversed
withtheirgodsandsometimes,especiallywhentheyhadgot-
tencarriedawayandimbibedtoomuchofthestuff,gulping
it like water and paying no attention to the consequences,
theyweredrinkingitwhentheyconversedwiththemselves.
And,thousandsofyearsago,therewerepeopleinSumer
drinking beer. If a man worked at one of the temples, he
received a ration of two pints a day. Others, “senior digni-
taries”atthetemples,wereprovidedwithtenpints,enough
to rid them of sobriety as well as thirst. Sometimes they
1
2 Introduction
drankforthesimplepleasureofdrinking;sometimestheydranktopay
homage to the goddess Ninkasi, “the lady who fills the mouth,” and
who,inherroleascelestialbrewmeistressparexcellence,presidedover
the country’s production of malt beverage. It was, to say the least, ex-
tensive;theSumeriansmadeeightdifferentkindsofbeerfrombarley,
another eight from wheat, and at least three from a mixture of grains.
The more of the refreshment that Ninkasi’s subjects drank, the more
theyhonoredher.Thesubjectswereveryfondofhonoring.
Also at the time, there were people in Egypt drinking beer, which
theycalledhek.Forthem,thebeveragewasaby-product—or,moreap-
propriately,abonus—ofbread-baking.TheEgyptiansbeganbysteep-
ing barley in water, allowing the grain and the liquid to mingle in un-
hurriedfashion.Theresultwasakindofpaste,whichwasthenstoredin
theopenairinavatofsomesort,allowingwarmNilebreezestoblow
overituntilitachievedtheperfectconsistency.
Then[theEgyptians]kneaded[it]intoadough.Next,itwaslightlybaked
toturnitintobreadandthensoakedinwater;datesmayhavebeenadded
atthisstagetosweetenthemixture.Then,itwasputintoawarmplaceto
allowfermentationtooccurandfinallysqueezedthroughaclothorfine
sievesothatthesweetliquidcouldbedrainedoffintoapot.
After all this the pot was raised to the lips of the thirsty—perhaps
too many sets of lips, perhaps too many times. “Banquets frequently
endedwiththeguests,menandwomen,beingsick,”ithasbeennoted,
“andthisdidnotinanywayseemshocking.”Further,alcohol-induced
illness“wasconsideredasuitablesubjectforart.Arecoveredfrescoof
thesecondmillenniumb.c.showsawomanbanqueterturningfromthe
tabletovomitintoabowlheldbyaservant.”
Alotofbowlswerefilledthisway.Somany,infact,thatafterawhile
a backlash set in, and the Egyptians became one of the world’s first
populationstoencourageabstinence,atleastonapart-timebasis.“Do
notgetdrunkinthetavernsinwhichtheydrinkbeer,”cautionsWisdom
ofAni,writtenabout1400b.c.;ifyoudo,yourcompanionsarelikelyto
“repeat words which may have gone out of your mouth, without your
beingawareofhavingutteredthem.”
There were people in the northern lands drinking beer. Some of
themwerealive,somewerenot.TheScandinaviansbelievedthat“the
spirits of their dead warriors were taken to an enormous banquet hall,
Valhalla,wheretheyfeastedeverydayoncopiousamountsofale.”Thus