Cold Water Army

Background/Story

Contributed by Susan Goodwin

A Nation of Drunks

In the 1830’s, the United States ^Wikipedia led every other country in the world in alcohol consumption. During that period the average consumption in the U.S. for every person, age 15 and over, hit its maximum of 7.1 gallons of pure alcohol per year ^citation.  (Currently, the average is 2.3 gallons).  The reasons for all that drinking were many but one of the main reasons was a tolerance for excessive drinking in the general public.  Life in our fledgling country, and especially on the American frontier, was difficult and dangerous and alcohol played an important role in making that life tolerable.

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