[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from reply #18.

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"The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," by Frederick Douglass, (1892 edition)

[PeterPrinciple]

“Slaves had a great fear of falling into the hands of a drunken owner.”

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Remember that at this time of history per capita consumption of alcohol was the highest it ever was. The early/mid 1800’s were very immoral times.

These times were the beginning of many social changes of which slavery was only ONE aspect. It ended with national prohibition and then the decline began again...............

Christian Revival was a big part of what was going on in society and that also has to be discussed if we are going to understand the times.

[PeterPrinciple]

The below gives a little overview of alcoholism but might give some insight. The use of morphine was common?

http://www.recoveryfirst.org/the-history-of-alcoholism-in-america/

Some bits of info here:

http://academics.lmu.edu/headsup/forstudents/historyofalcoholuse/

Early 19th Century

Development of the continuous still makes the process of alcohol distillation cheaper and easier to control.

1860

1,138 legal alcohol distilleries were operating in the United States producing 88 million gallons of liquor per year.

1862

Abraham Lincoln imposed a new tax on liquor (the Act of July 1) to help pay the bills from the Civil War. This act also created the office of internal revenue. The alcohol tax began at 20 cents per gallon in 1862 and had risen to $2.00 per gallon just over two years later.

1906

Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the labelling of products containing Alcohol, Opiates, Cocaine, and Cannabis, among others. The law went into effect Jan 1, 1907

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Continued from reply #24.

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"The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass," by Frederick Douglass, (1892 edition)