By the 1820s, possibly in response to economic and social upheavals following the American Revolution, the per capita consumption of alcohol reached a peak of four gallons of hard liquor annually, and America became known as the “Alcoholic Republic.” This inspired a temperance movement with hundreds of temperance societies coming into being across the nation. Their members, such as those in the Deerfield Temperance Society formed in 1834, took pledges of abstinence, ranging from avoiding only hard liquor to “total abstinence” (no alcoholic beverages of any kind), to joining the “Cold Water Army” that abstained from all alcoholic beverages and stimulating drinks such as coffee and tea as well. By 1840, the efforts of the temperance societies had paid off and the per capita consumption had dropped to one half gallon annually.
Deerfield Temperance Society. The Constitution of the Deerfield Temperance Society. April 26, 1834. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l05-034/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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