Alcohol and Drinking History in America: A Chronology

World War II and the Cold War

1941-1945. During World War II, distillers produced industrial alcohol for the war effort; whiskey production virtually stopped, and it was rationed. This led to the increased popularity of rum imported from nearby Caribbean islands. By the end of the war, Americans were drinking three times as much rum as in 1941.¹ Not surprisingly, the song “Rum and Coca-Cola” was a hit in 1944.

1941.

• The annual consumption of absolute alcohol per capita in the U.S. rose to 1.5 gallons from about one gallon the year after prohibition (1934).²
• All brewers' associations in the country became united under the United States Brewers' Association.³

1942.

• Anheuser-Busch produced three million barrels of beer.⁴
• Temperance leaders tried unsuccessfully to have alcohol prohibition imposed on all U.S. military bases and installations.⁵

1943. The Yale Center of Alcohol Studies was established. It was moved in 1962 to become the Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies.⁶

1944.

• Drs. Alfred Winkler and Maynard Amerine of the University of California at Davis published their map of California with five classifications of climate zone based on degree days or heat summation. They associated each zone with specific grape varieties most suited for it.⁷
• The National Council on Alcoholism was created by the first female member of Alcoholics Anonymous, Marty Mann, to promote the disease theory of alcoholism of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Yale Center of Alcohol Studies. It later became the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.⁸

1945. Reflecting the popularity of rum, the song “Rum and Coca-Cola” was at the top of Billboards U.S. Pop Singles chart for ten weeks.⁹

1946. The annual average per capita consumption of absolute alcohol in the U.S. reached the pre-Prohibition level of about two gallons.¹⁰

Late 1940s-1950s.

• “By the late 1940s and 1950s, cocktail rituals were woven into the fabric of the dominant culture...” in the U.S.¹¹
• “Drinking...began to shift from an occasional, often public, act to one that was incorporated into daily life in the home as a marker and accompaniment of leisure.”¹²

1947. Andrew Volstead died in his house in Granite Falls, Minnesota, which is now a National Historic Landmark. He “never made a temperance speech, had written that he saw no harm in taking a drink, and was anything but the fanatic he was labeled.” Volstead received lucrative offers to give speeches on Prohibition, but always declined them, apparently in the belief making them would be unethical.¹³

1949. Prohibition was largely lifted in Kansas by a vote of 422,294 to 358,310 the previous year. However, the sale of alcohol by the drink in public places was still prohibited.¹⁴

1950. Time magazine reported that "the dry-throated voice of Prohibition was being heard again in the land" as Mamie Colvin led an effort in Congress to prohibit the interstate advertising of alcoholic beverages by radio or press.¹⁵

1951. The barrel tax on beer was raised substantially.¹⁶

1953. Native American reservations were given “local option” to determine if they wanted to repeal Prohibition. However, they remained dry unless they opted to permit the possession and sale of alcohol.¹⁷

1954.

• The 16 ounce beer can was introduced by Schlitz.¹⁸
• Earl Dodge, perennial candidate of the U.S. Prohibition Party, first ran as a candidate for public office.¹⁹

1956. Demographer Sully Ledermann proposed his influential, albeit controversial, single distribution model of consumption distribution.²⁰ Over time, it heavily influenced public alcohol policy.

1957. The first vinifera (European grape) vines were planted in New York State by Russian immigrant Dr. Konstantin Frank who had been a Ukrainian viticulturist and was convinced that they could survive the cold winters in the Finger Lakes.²¹

1960-1990s. Lager began to become the dominant style of beer in the U.S., which it achieved by the 1990s.²²

1960. E.M. Jellinek published The Disease Concept of Alcoholism. It described his now generally ignored five types of alcoholism: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, and epsilon. Jellinek is known for asserting that “A disease is what the medical profession recognizes as such.”²³

1962.

• The tab top beer can introduced by Pittsburgh Brewing Company.²⁴
• Arthur Sinclair, author of Prohibition: the Era of Excess, observed that “Up to the present day, alcohol is still miscalled a poison.. .[in the U.S.]”⁵² Indeed, it is still being called a poison in the twenty-first century.

1963. Research by Dr. D.L. Davies found that some recovered alcoholics could drink alcohol in moderation. This finding challenged the disease theory of alcoholism and led to much subsequent research, most of which has supported Dr. Davies’ findings.²⁵

1964.

• The American Council on Alcohol Problems became the name of the National Temperance League which, until 1950, had been the Temperance League which, until 1948, had been called the Anti-Saloon League. The current name disguises its prohibitionist and neo-prohibitionist agenda.²⁶
• The U.S. Supreme Court held in Hostetter v. Idlewild Bon Voyage Liquor Corp. that the powers states exercise under the Twenty-First Amendment can, under the Commerce Clause, be restricted in matters concerning alcoholic beverages.²⁷
• In Department of Revenue v. James B. Beam Distilling Co., the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Kentucky tax on imported whiskey violated the Import-Export Clause.²⁸

1965. The “ring pull” on beer cans was introduced.²⁹

1966. Mississippi became the last U.S. state to repeal its state-wide prohibition against alcohol.30

1967. The production of table wine exceed that of fortified wine in the U.S.31

1968.

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) was first identified.³²
• The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Orders (DSM-II) published the first of many subsequently differing criteria for the diagnosis of alcoholism. It later dropped the terms “alcoholic” and “alcoholism.”³³

1969.

• Canned beer outsold bottled beer for the first time.³⁴
• Drs. Craig MacAndrew and Robert Edgerton published their influential book, Drunken Comportment: A Social Explanation.³⁵

1970s. The Potter fermenter, named after its inventor, Ron Potter, is a patented stainless-steel tank that allows vintners to control the temperature of their musts (freshly pressed grapes). It became standard equipment in most wineries during the decade.³⁶

1970.

• The U.S. Congress passed the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970 on December 31, 1970. This legislation, also known as the Hughes Act, created the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).³⁷
• The U.S. federal excise tax on spirits had risen so high that a moonshiner could produce and sell it for half the amount of the tax alone.³⁸
• The first vinifera (European grape) vines were planted in Michigan.³⁹

1971-1974. “Kansas Attorney General Vern Miller launches a new round of enforcement during his 1971-74 term. Most notoriously, he raids Amtrak trains to stop illegal liquor sales, and prohibits airlines from serving alcoholic beverages in airspace over Kansas.”⁴⁰ He insisted that "Kansas goes all the way up and all the way down," a legal opinion that was widely ridiculed in legal circles.⁴¹

1971. Philip Morris company bought the Miller Brewing company. ⁴²

1975.

• Vine acreage in New York State peaked and subsequently declined.⁴³
• In United States v. Tax Commission of Mississippi, the U.S. Supreme Court held that states could not tax alcoholic beverage sales on military bases within their borders because the federal government has concurrent jurisdiction over the bases.⁴⁴

1976.

• The historic 1976 Judgment of Paris blind wine tasting comparing California wines with the best wines of France and judged by top French wine experts was the biggest and most influential event of the twentieth century in the world of wine. California wines won first place in both red and white categories. Vintners around the world realized that they might be able to produce wines as great, or even greater, than those produced in the most famous regions of France. Subsequent events have proved them right. The Judgment of Paris tasting competition fundamentally revolutionized the world of wine, which has never been the same since that milestone event.⁴⁵
• Commissioned by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), a study that is now known as “the RAND Report” documented the fact that many alcoholics are able to drinks in moderation. This was a major challenge to the disease theory of alcoholism.⁴⁶

1977.

• “In 1977, the first of what would later come to be known as microbreweries opened in Sonoma, California.”⁴⁷
• President Jimmy Carter’s younger brother, William (Billy), produced “Billy Beer.”⁴⁸

1978.

• Robert M. Parker, Jr., began publishing his Wine Advocate and applying his wine rating system. Parker’s judgments are widely used by consumers in making purchase decisions and have a powerful influence on both wine style and prices around the world.⁴⁹
• The U.S. legalized home brewing of beer for the first time since before National Prohibition began in 1920. Up to 200 gallons per household could be produced tax-free.⁵⁰
• The American Homebrewers Association was formed, reflecting the growing popularity of home brewing.⁵¹