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American society believes that lowering the drinking age back to eighteen will lead to a domino affect of bad premonitions like rampant drinking binges, raving alcoholics, and more traffic accident deaths upon the entire nation. Realistic Alcohol Laws for
Legal Youth (RALLY) is one of many major organizations dedicated to rectifying these faulty perspectives that Americans hold. Due to the irrelevance on the number of alcohol related car accidents in the 1970?s, the parents obligation to teach responsible drinking, and the fact that eighteen year olds have the same constitutional rights as all adults, I believe that the legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered to eighteen.
Whatever our personal opinion may be, we can not denounce that alcohol has been embedded with every major civilized society from the Greeks to the Romans and even American society as it was stated in the book Opposing Viewpoints: Alcohol
(Barbour 25-32). Drinking has been part of the social element since colonial America. According to the book Alcohol:
Teenage Drinking, alcohol was viewed as ?God?s Good Creature (Lang 25).? The view of alcohol then changed during the
Prohibition period when it became known as ?Demon Rum?. Despite this ?Demon Rum? perspective, society rebelled astoundingly against the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (Prohibition) emphasizing the idea that American people wanted their liquor. Tough restrictions on alcohol and the general concept that alcohol is wicked exist to this day. The controversy lies in that the government literally blackmailed states into increasing the legal drinking age. The nationwide legal age limit was enforced with the threat that President Reagan would not give money to states for roads until they increased their drinking ages.
When Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, the country went dry to everyone under
21-legally, that is. Now, some young adults are opting to reverse that decision.
We must take into account that alcohol and teens are very well acquainted. The book, Teenagers and Alcohol: When Saying
No Isn?t Enough, asserts that high school surveys in the last decade show that ninety-two percent of its students have tried alcohol (Vogler & Bartz 4). Former Senator Baker says, in Teenagers and Alcohol: When Saying No Isn?t Enough, that alcohol is the ?bloody monster that defiles i...
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...cohol and not simply hide, ignore, and misunderstand it. Works Cited
Barbour, Scott, Bruno Leone, and Brenda Stalcup, eds.
Opposing Viewpoints: Alcohol. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998.
Castañeda, Carol J. ?La. Drinking-age ruling rekindles
debate.? USA Today 22 Mar. 1996: 3A.
Chafetz, Morris E. ?Teach responsible drinking.? Editorial.
USA Today 30 Oct. 1997: 14A.
Chwat, John. ?Education, not laws, will make roads safe.?
Interview. USA Today 7 Apr. 1989: 10A.
De la Cruz, Hector. General Motors. Clark Chevrolet
Representative. Interview. By JM.
Kelly, Rachel. ?The real answer is abstinence.? Interview.
USA Today 7 Apr. 1989: 10A.
Lang, Alan R. Ph.D. Alcohol: Teenage Drinking. New York:
Chelsea House, 1992.
?Medical Examiner.? University of North Carolina. Online.
AOL.
?Statistics.? American Cancer Society. Online. AOL.
Vogler, Roger E. Ph.D., and Wayne R. Bartz, Ph.D. Teenagers
and Alcohol: When Saying No Isn?t Enough. Philadelphia: The Charles Press, 1992.
Wells, Melanie. ?Coors chief: Consider lower drinking age.?
USA Today 10 Sept. 1997: 4B.
?When were the best muscle cars made?? Motor Trend. With
Bob and Neil. TNN 31 July 1999.
During these times, domestic violence was commonplace and many blamed alcohol as the culprit. Reformers also noticed that alcohol decreased efficiency of labor and thought of alcohol as a menace to society because it left men irresponsible and lacking self control. One reformer, named Lyman Beecher, argued that the act of alcohol consumption was immoral and will destroy the nation. Document H depicts the progression of becoming a drunkard from a common m...
Aaron, Paul and Musto, David, Temperance and Prohibition in America: A Historical Overview. In: Moore, Mark H., and Gerstain, Dean R. (eds) Alcohol and Public Policy: Beyond the Shadow of Prohibition. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1981. Pp 127-181.
“By 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year – three times as much as we drink today – and alcohol abuse (primarily by men) was wreaking havoc on the lives of many.” In the 1800s millions of Americans took a pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol. This was known as the Temperance Movement. The temperance movement was a reaction to the increase of alcohol consumption throughout the nation. The opposition to drinking originally stemmed from heath and religious reformers. These groups were crucial to American society for their efforts to tighten social controls. During this era, there were multiple citizens who believed some individuals were living unethically. “These people feared that God would no longer bless the United States and that these ungodly and unscrupulous people posed a threat to America's political system. To survive, the American republic, these people believed, needed virtuous citizens.” Due to these
Our study found that a lower drinking age was associated with a statistically higher risk of unintended pregnancy and. worse infant health.” (Watson) Not only was unintended pregnancy the only issue happening, Watson also explains there will mostly likely be higher crime rates to last much longer, and this is all associated with alcohol. Not only does Watson explain that lowering the drinking age limit has and will cause a huge psychological impact, it will cause young adults to binge drink as they get older.
Ezell, Marcel D. "Early Attitudes toward Alcoholic Beverages in the South" Red River Valley Historical Review 7, 1982.
After the American Revolution, drinking was on the rise. To combat this, a number of societies were organized as part of a new Temperance movement which attempted to dissuade people from becoming intoxicated. At first, these organizations pushed moderation, but after several decades, the movement's focus changed to complete prohibition of alcohol consumption. (Brayton)
Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction.” This is the case when it comes to teens and alcohol. In America, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Age is a topic of great debate and controversy. Many people argue that the age restriction provides a safe environment for all citizens; whereas others disagree that the law creates an untrustworthy aura among teens. If the minimum legal drinking age were to be lowered, most people would be affected by it, whether it be by an increase in drunk-driving or a rise in crimes. Although teens are legally considered adults by the age of eighteen and the minimum legal drinking age prompts underage teens to exhibit risky behavior, the age restriction should not be lowered from twenty-one to eighteen because young teens would have easier access to alcohol, the minimum legal drinking age has decreased alcohol-related problems, and alcohol can cause damage to underage drinkers.
In the 1960s, the drinking age was set as 21, to match the voting age. However, around the time of the Vietnam War, the public began to argue that if an 18-year-old was old enough to fight and die for his country, then he should be able to vote as well. As a result, the voting age was lowered to 18. Between 1970 and 1976, 29 states lowered their legal drinking age as well. In the words of Carla Main, author of Bulldozed and various other published works concerning law and society, the results were “catastrophic,” as “[h]ighway deaths among teenagers and young adults skyrocketed” (Main 33). Many states began raising the legal drinking age up again. In 1984, under the supervision of Ronald ...
Since this country was born it has been raised on alcohol, even the prohibition couldn 't stop the Americans from doing what they love to do. But back then they were lenient on the age to consume alcohol. But in 1980’s Ronald Reagan passed the Drinking Age Act which permanently raised the drinking age to twenty-one through out the nation. Which people asked themselves is this right? When at eighteen you 're legally allowed to be on a official jury, vote for the next president and fight for your country. So lowering the drinking age to 18 would make sense.
In the 1600's and 1700's, the American colonists drank large quantities of beer, rum, wine, and hard cider. These alcoholic beverages were often safer to drink than impure water or unpasteurized milk and also less expensive than coffee or tea. By the 1820's, people in the United States were drinking, on the average, the equivalent of 7 gallons of pure alcohol per person each year (“drinkingprohibition” 1). As early as the seventeenth century, America was showing interest towards prohibition. Some people, including physicians and ministers, became concerned about the extent of alcohol use (“There was one...” 1). They believed that drinking alcohol damaged people's health and moral behavior, and promoted poverty. People concerned about alcohol use u...
Most people point to wars, Presidents or the economy when asked to describe the history of the United States, but what about alcohol. Social history in general has always taken a back seat to political and economic history, mostly because many aspects of social history are not exactly bright spots from the past. Alcohol, for example, is actually a much bigger aspect of our history than one may expect. As a matter of fact, early America was centered around drinking as a kind of social event. William Rorabaugh’s book Alcoholic Republic outlines how prevalent drinking really was during the years after the Revolutionary War. Rorabaugh argues that post-colonial Americans should be considered alcoholics. However, the evidence Rorabaugh uses
Upon turning eighteen you are considered to be legal adult and receive all of the responsibilities that accompany the title. At the age of eighteen year olds you receive and are expected to use the rights and responsibilities to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, join the military--which includes taking on the responsibilities of life and death--and be prosecuted as an adults in the court of law along with many other things. In 1984, the national government raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. Mothers Against Drunk Driving was a key contributing organization that influenced the change in the minimum drinking age. While there are arguments for both sides, it is said that if the national minimum legal drinking age is dropped back to eighteen many lives would be saved, colleges will have better retention as well as turn out rates of high school graduates, and it could repeal or alter a counterproductive law. The minimum legal drinking age should be lowered back down to the age of eighteen and those who wish to drink should be required to take classes to attain a drinking license upon completing the class in a satisfactory manner.
In the early 1820s to 1830s, Christian Values re-awaked the banning of drinking alcohol in the United States. The State of Massachusetts passed a law in 1838 banning the sale of alcohol in anything less than a 15-gallon container. Two years later that law was revoked. This set an example for the banning of alcohol and a structure for other states to try. Later throughout the years Maine passed the first state prohibition law in 1846 , and a couple other states had followed by the time the Civil War.
Then in 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act passed which forced all states to adopt a drinking age of 21 within 2 years or face being cut federal funds for state highways.
Now let’s imagine a United States where the drinking age is lowered to age 18. What you would expect to see is that people would drink less because the temptation of drinking alcohol would be lowered. There would be a lot less alcohol related incidents because binge drinking rates decreased significantly due alcohol education and supervision. The mentality of “getting wasted” would also be gone because drinking would be treated as a normal social activity. Wow, if that really happens, drinking would be like how it is in Europe, where they have a lowered legal drinking age that actually works!