The Effects of the Social Hierarchy on Beer: England 17-19th Century

Beer, the first beverage appeared as a result of changed lifestyle for the early humans. Before, humans were nomads, who would follow their food (pg. 9). But starting about 12,000 years ago humans had picked up on a new lifestyle (pg. 9). These small bands of about 30 people were now settling down in more permanent areas and had abandoned their old ways of constantly traveling (pg. 9). This drastic turning point in human history seemed to primarily come from one reason, the discovery of beer (pg.11). As beer was basically formed from the gathering of barley and wheat, humans had to form some type of permanent residency, and abandon their old nomadic lifestyle (pg.11).

Beer was existent in a time where there was a great increase in social intricacy because of the creation of cities from the settling of humanity after its practice of being nomadic.

Each drink has changed the world in many ways (good or bad). Starting with beer, beer steered people out of the hunting and gathering way of life into the agricultural lifestyle. People grew grains in order to make beer, but eventually in gave the people the idea that can also grow more crops instead of just grain. "Beer drinking was one of the many factors that helped tip the balance away from hunting and gathering and towards farming and sedentary lifestyle based on small settlements". Beer was also safer to drink than water because water was mostly contaminated. In the Stone Age, beer became the main drink, and it is still a popular drink today.

Alcohols role within this work does not stop there. Instead we see it have an effect on the confidence of the characters within this work. Unferth for example becomes very loud, and boastful when he is drinking. He even goes as far as to insult Beowulf while drinking. To which Beowulf replies: “Well, friend Unferth, you have had your say / about Breca and me. But it was mostly beer / that was doing the talking” (530-531). Even Beowulf is suspicious that this false confidence is coming from the

As beer started becoming a necessity, it showed the strong need for agriculture in society. People came together, to make an industry of beer, and creating civilizations.

In the early 1800s the Second Great Awakening was gaining momentum, birthing several movements such as the Temperance Movement, Women’s Suffrage, and the Anti-Slavery Abolitionist Movement. These movements also sparked the idea of alcohol being a threat to society as a whole, stating that it was a ‘National Curse’. Under this guise that by ridding the country as a whole of alcohol, it would decrease crime and cause an increase in other industries. The idea was

In his book, The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition, William J. Rorabaugh makes the argument that early American society was a place where alcohol flowed freely through every level of society. Americans in the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century partook in so widely it was one of the defining characteristics of the culture of the early United States. Using data collected from censuses, surveys, and reports from those who traveled across the country in its early years, Rorabaugh concludes that the drinking in the United States found no barriers with age, sex, race, class, or location. But his assumptions and conclusion are not proved strongly enough by hard evidence and data to be considered a reliable narrative of the early America.

Have you ever remembered the time people against the consumption of alcoholic beverages? It was the temperance movement which began in the early 19th century in order to reduce drunkenness. Nevertheless, the temperance movement promoted government to make the prohibition in the society. Citizens were not allowed to drink the alcohol and banned the alcoholic affected America to maintain their social harmony. Moreover, citizens especially the drinkers’ children developed more slowly and they were more liable to the accident so that the temperance movement can easily educate the alcoholics. For these reasons, the temperance movement should be justified as the most influential event in the U.S. History.

Beer: Beer was not invented, it was discovered. Exactly when the first beer was brewed is unknown but there was almost certainly no beer before 10,000 BCE. The rise of beer was closely associated with the domestication of the cereal grains rom which it is made and the adoption of farming. Beer originated in the Fertile Crescent in Egypt and Mesopotamia. To beer drinkers in the Neolithic period, beer’s ability to intoxicate and induce a state of altered consciousness seemed magical. This caused them to believe beer was a gift from the Gods. Since it was a gift from the gods, it was presented as a religious offering in religious ceremonies, agricultural fertility rites, and in

People drank more alcohol during this time than any other era. Alcohol was a huge part of everyday life. They drank it for many reasons, fear of unsanitary water, its medicinal properties and to keep them warm. Average Americans drank 8oz of alcohol on a daily basis. They had it with breakfast, lunch, dinner and also in the evening. They drank many different types of alcohol such as beer, rum, wine and a mix of other concoctions. One explanation for drinking so much alcohol was that the English had claimed that water was bad for your health. They felt that it was unsanitary and this may have been true during this time period. A “healthy” substitute for water was beer which was thought of as a type of food. Beer often replaced water as a daily drink. Children consumed beer in place of water. Many believed only the very poor drank water. It was even believed that it was bad for your health to drink cold water on a hot day. It was better to drink warm beer on a hot day. There were signs posted to warn people of this belief. When the Pilgrims came to America they brought more beer than water. Settlers of the frontier began to turn corn into whiskey as a substitute for beer. They felt this gave them strength to endure the manual labor that was required of living in the wilderness. Ingredients found in beer did not grow well in some parts of the colonies and soon cider became a popular drink. Apple orchards were

During the early 1900’s America was in its “Gilded Age”. The economy was booming and everyone seemed to be happy from the outside. But, there were many problems going on in the United States. In the factories where most people worked there were corrupt bosses, the people were overworked and there was child labor. The only salvation that these people had was to drink. The workers drank to calm down and feel no pain. But this destroyed families because they were almost constantly drunk. They would sometimes lose their only job because of the drinking. So, a lot of religious groups and many women started the temperance movement. There have been many people who have supported temperance in the past and it dates all the way back to when the Bible was written. Eventually the 18th Amendment was passed on January 26th 1919. This amendment was known as the “Noble Experiment”. This turned out to be a complete failure. This law was impossible to enforce because of the corrupt police and there was alcohol almost everywhere. In this paper I will go over alcohol use, attempts to fight alcohol abuse, and the rise in crime due to the money that could be made in corruption.

Till 1827, the idea of sobriety was practically non-existent in North-America . Taverns were open at all times of day and were a place of encounter for everyone – regardless of class, race and gender. Moreover, they facilitated ‘political negotiations, economic exchanges and interracial sociability . So, where did the idea of reducing alcohol consumption come from amid the booming socio-economic stability that taverns seemed to provide?

This is where the desire for prohibition stemmed from. Alcoholic consumption was seen as the cause of much relaxation in social conventions, as it was the supporting cast for so much that made the time period "roar." The growth of organized

By the 1820s, the average American was drinking the equivalent of seventy gallons of beer a year, due to both a lack of safe drinking water and of few other options.(Meredith) Even though it originated out of necessity, this excessive drinking outraged and shocked a portion of the U.S. population. This began the Temperance movement, where many campaigned to minimize alcohol consumption. Doctors objected to drinking alcohol on medical grounds, because excessive drinking lead to cirrhosis of the liver.(Meredith) Ministers claimed that it damaged moral behavior. Many mothers and wives were outraged with their husbands and sons for going to saloons or bars and drinking the family money away.(Burns and Novick) These groups believed temperance, and eventually, prohibition, would fix these problems. The Temperance movement gained traction in the United States and whipped the nation into a fervor. This lead to the passing of the 18th Amendment, beginning what we know as

From fancy beer to the lowest quality that you could receive, beer was presented in celebrations or events because this drink “brought people together since the dawn of civilization” and this bringing together allowed the exchange of cultures and traditions to be passed down from generation to generation just like wine (39). These interactions shaped the mind of man, and helped them have