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Topic:
FAST
FACTS History Of Alcohol
Last Updated: May 09, 2009
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Alcohol Related Questions
What health effects if any are related to alcohol?
What is the
timeline of the history of alcohol?
What is the Distilled Spirits Act?
How did the people view the alcohol tax?
Was
the excise tax on alcohol legal?
When was the Distilled Spirits Act Passed?
When was
the Distilled Spirits Act repealed?
What was
the Act Of July 1?
What year did the whiskey rebellion begin?
What
was the anti-saloon league?
When
was the Anti-Saloon League formed?
Where was the Anti-saloon League formed?
Who was the first superintendent of the Anti-Saloon league?
What was
the motto of the Anti-Saloon League?
When was the scientific study published on the benefits of alcohol
use?
What did the 18th
amendment prohibit?
When was the 18th
amendment repealed?
What is the recipe for
moonshine?
What is a
revenuer?
How many revenuers died trying to enforce the 18th amendment?
Why did so many
revenuers die trying to enforce the 18th amendment?
Why wasn't the revenuers deaths reported by the newspapers?
What year was the
bill passed legalizing the home brewing of alcohol?
What is MADD?
What
are some of the more popular moonshine movies?
What are some of the more
popular songs about drinking? |
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Alcohol has been used by people since
the establishment of the 13 colonies as the United States Of America
in 1776.
It is extremely important that we all
understand what powers the federal government has or does not have
regarding the restricting and excise taxing of alcohol. Much
research was done in understanding our founding documents to get at the truth.
The possible abuse of power at the
federal level for gain by those elected and appointed was looked at
as well. People generally will not do something unless they receive
some benefit.
Reviews of research evidence report a
strong, consistent relationship between moderate alcohol consumption
and reduction in cardiovascular disease in general and coronary
artery disease in particular. The National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) reported that moderate drinkers have
the greatest longevity. It also found that moderate drinking is
beneficial to heart health, resulting in a sharp decrease in heart
disease risk. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of
death in the United States, and heart disease kills about one
million Americans each and every year. Alcohol is not a depressant
as some say, alcohol in fact, reduces a person's inhibitions,
nothing more, nothing less.
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Of Alcohol |
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1791 |
The Distilled Spirits Tax Of 1791 is
passed. |
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1802 |
The
Distilled Spirits Tax Of 1791 is repealed by
Thomas Jefferson who called it "infernal," and "hostile to the
genius of a free people." |
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1814 |
A new alcohol tax is temporarily imposed in the
United States to help pay for the War of 1812. |
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1862 |
Abraham Lincoln imposed a new tax on
liquor called the Act of July 1 to pay the bills from the War
Between The States. The act also created the office of internal
revenue. The alcohol tax began at 20 cents per gallon in 1862 and
rose to $2.00 per gallon two years later. |
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1904 |
Journal
of the American Medical Association publishes a scientific study on
the benefits of alcohol use. |
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1906 |
Pure Food and Drug Act is passed, regulating the
labeling of products containing Alcohol, Opiates, Cocaine, and
Cannabis, among others. |
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1919 |
The 18th Amendment to the Constitution
(prohibition amendment) is ratified by the 36th state, meeting the
3/4 requirement. It goes into effect one year later. |
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1933 |
The prohibition of alcohol is repealed in the
U.S. with the passage of the 21st Amendment, effective immediately. |
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1934 |
The
excise tax on alcohol begins to climb again. In 1934 the tax was
$2.00 per gallon. |
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1940 |
The
excise tax on alcohol climbs to $3.00 per gallon. |
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1941 |
The
excise tax on alcohol climbs to $4.00 per gallon. |
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1942 |
The
excise tax on alcohol climbs to $6.00 per gallon. |
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1944 |
The
excise tax on alcohol climbs to $9.00 per gallon. |
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1970 |
The
excise tax on alcohol climbs to $10.50 per gallon. At this point a
moonshiner could produce and sell a gallon of alcohol for half the
amount of the tax alone. |
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1978 |
US President Jimmy Carter signs bill legalizing
home brewing of beer. |
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Of Alcohol |
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The Distilled
Spirits Tax Of 1791 & The Whiskey Rebellion
The new Federal government agreed to assume
the Revolutionary War debts of the 13 States. In early 1791, to help
pay off the resulting national debt, Congress used its new
constitutional authority to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts
and Excises" and passed the first
excise tax on distilled spirits. Congress took this action at the
urging of the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton.
The 1791 excise law set a varying six to 18-cent per gallon tax
rate, with smaller distillers often paying more than twice per
gallon what larger producers paid. The term "sin tax" as folks
called it was coined as a result. The Whiskey
Rebellion was born in 1791 as a result of this alcohol tax.
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Of Alcohol |
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The Anti-Saloon League was
formed on May 24, 1893 in Oberlin, Ohio. It's motto was simple, "The
saloon must go."
Reverend Howard Hyde was named the State
Superintendent for this new organization. A similar organization was
also founded in 1893 in Washington, D.C. These two organizations
joined forces and formed the National Anti-Saloon League on December
18, 1895. The National Anti-Saloon League later changed its
name to the Anti-Saloon League Of America. Howard Hyde was also
named as the Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League Of America.
The League's message was "The Saloon Must Go."
Interdenominational churches were used to spread the message to the
people and to solicit donations to run an attack on the nation's
saloons. The Anti-Saloon League Of America goals were heavily
dependent on the
local churches for the power and the
necessary influence to achieve the League's goal one precinct at a
time for the total elimination of the consumption of alcohol in the
United States.
To secure
the League's goal, the League supported politicians and helped those
politicians get elected who supported the League's goal. In the case
of two politicians who both supported the League which were running
for the same office, the League supported neither candidate. The
League would use it's power to influence politicians to support the
League's goal.
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Of Alcohol |
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The 18th Amendment to the
Constitution banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of
alcohol and was ratified on January 16, 1919 and subsequently
repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933.
Section 1. After
one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture,
sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the
importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United
States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for
beverage purposes is hereby prohibited.
Section 2. The
Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Section 3. This
article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as
an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several
States,
as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of
the submission hereof to the States by the Congress.
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Of Alcohol |
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Black Beards Rum Moonshine Recipe
Although there are over
40 recipes for moonshine, Black Beards Rum is one of the most
popular.
Two pounds of brown
sugar per one gallon of water and one cup of honey for every ten
gallon batch. Starting hydrometer reading of about 90. Do not exceed
100. Add 1 to 3 ozs of yeast per 10 gallons of mash.
Heat one fourth of your
water to 120 or 130 degrees only hot enough to melt the sugar, then
stir in your sugar and then the honey last. Pour it into your
fermenter and finish filling with cool water to cool it down to 80
degrees. Take a hydrometer reading and adjust as needed. The add
your yeast. 6 to 14 days to ferment. Yields about 12% alcohol.
Copper Distillation
Still, Photo Credit To Copper Moonshine Stills
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Of Alcohol |
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Moonshine
Runnin'
Over 80% of individuals viewed the
alcohol tax as an intrusion on their rights regardless of
section 8
of the Constitution's clear language that permits government to lay
and collect excise (consumption) taxes.
As a result of the legal excise tax
placed on alcohol, moonshine or home brewed alcohol became extremely
popular particularly after the 18th Amendment was passed.
Revenuers (agents from the government)
began surveillance on individuals suspected of brewing alcohol.
Although we were unable to determine an exact number,
at least
several hundreds of these revenuers were subsequently killed by
hard-working people (mainly Southerners) who were extremely
principled people and were rightfully protecting their way of life.
Few newspapers in the country reported
these revenuers deaths since they believed that if normal folks
discovered that such an uprising against federal power existed, the
federal government would fall to its knees.
Eventually the federal government
threw its hands in the air and gave up their chase and prosecution
of all moonshiners. The excise tax on alcohol however, remains to
this day.
Although brewers have decreased in
number since the 1970s, people to this day continue to brew alcohol
on their own property and stick their nose up at the abuse of the
federal government as they rightfully should.
In 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed
a bill legalizing the home brewing of alcohol.
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Of Alcohol |
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Mothers
Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has grown into one of the nation’s most widely respected
non-profit organizations since 1980. MADD's mission is to stop drunk driving,
support the victims of this violent crime and prevent underage
drinking.
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Of Alcohol |
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Thunder Road (1958) A veteran comes home from the Korean War to
the mountains and takes over the family moonshine business. He
has to battle big-city gangsters who are trying to take over the
business and the police who are trying to put him in prison.
Written by
frankfob2@yahoo.com
The Moonshine War (1970) The Moonshine War 1932. The 18th
amendment prohibited drinking. It didn't say a word about
killing, double-crossing or blowing things up.
White Lightning (1973) An ex con teams up with federal agents to
help them with breaking up a moonshine ring.
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Alcohol Related Music
Presented below is a sampling of some
of the more popular alcohol related songs.
Bluegrass
Tear My Stillhouse Down (1999) -
Modern Hicks
Contemporary Country
I Love This Bar - Toby Keith
Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffett
Ten Rounds of Jose
Cuervo - Tracey Byrd
Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall - Off
Joe Nichols
Rock
Alcohol And Ass - Hell Yeah
Strange Brew - Cream
Southern Rock
Runnin' Shine - Dell Conner
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Of Alcohol |
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References
And Source Links
Alcohol And Tobacco Tax Trade
Bureau
Eighteenth Amendment
Telephone: (479) 414-3220 or (479) 997-5289
Hours: 8am to 10pm 7 days a week
126 S State
Street
Westerville, OH 43081
(614) 882-7277
Hours: Monday through
Friday 9:00am to 6:00pm
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Researchers Comments
The purpose of this FAST FACTS topic
was to look at all aspects of alcohol including the
legality of the tax.
The tax which we now know from
researching not only the Declaration Of Independence, Constitution
and Bill Of rights but the federalist and anti-federalist papers
as well conclusively prove that while the federal government did
specifically hold the power to create an excise tax, most law
abiding people thought that the tax was a violation of their right
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness which in plain
language the tax was and is today a violation of our rights.
While researching alcohol and its
effects on the body and on society, try as I did, I could not locate
one reliable unbiased source or study which conclusively proves that
the moderate use of alcohol is dangerous to ones health or in any
way dangerous to society. I was however able to locate, several reliable
sources including the government's own National Institute on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) which has lauded the health benefits of
moderate alcohol consumption. Their findings completely conflict
with the so-called medical profession's appraisal of alcohol use.
Although I applaud the efforts of MADD
to rid our states of drunk drivers, the police report's that I have
personally reviewed do not support MADDs message that stiffer laws
reduce drunk driving. Getting out the message that drunk driving can
cause serious injury or death has had the greatest impact in the
decrease of drunk driving. In my capacity as a Sheriff's Deputy, I
witnessed first hand that repeat drunk drivers are a definite danger
to society. Stiffer laws have no effect whatsoever on someone who is truly
addicted to alcohol.
Michael Heart
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Of Alcohol |
