There are artifacts, and then there are artifacts. Here is one that is fun and informative. It is the bill from September 15, 1787, submitted to the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. On that night, two days before signing the United States Constitution, they gathered at City Tavern, walking distance from Independence Hall.
City Tavern is a museum and temporarily closed. Here is a reprint of the bill submitted to “To 55 Gentlemen” at the end of the evening—rendered in pounds.
54 Bottles of Madeira………….20
60 of Claret…………………….21
8 ditto of old stock (whiskey)… 3
22 Bottles of Porter………………2
8 Cyder (cider) ditto……………16
12 ditto Beer……………………12
7 bowls of punch…………… …4
16 Bottles Claret…………………5
5 ditto Madiera…………………..1
7 Bowls Punch………………….. 2
Total…………………………….86
There was an additional charge of three pounds for “miscellany”: candles, cigars, olives, fruit, and relish. The total, 89 pounds, is equivalent to approximately $15,000 today. The average consumption per gentleman, in one sitting, was about three bottles each of either Madeira, Porter, or Claret. One the brighter side, each had less than one beer, shot of whiskey, or cup of cider.
Surprised? Don’t be. The Father of our Country had a brewery at Mount Vernon and drank beer from a silver tankard at every meal daily. John Adams had a glass of hard cider every morning with his breakfast, and Thomas Jefferson was a dedicated oenophile.
The first report of drinking to excess by the English in North America appears in a letter from Jamestown to London prior to establishing the Plymouth Colony in 1620. It stated that drunkenness was interfering with development of the settlement. More than 150 years later, the soldiers on Know Train were no more sober. Nor were our deliberative chambers at other key moments in history. So, what’s the story? Were the founding fathers lushes?
To place all this imbibing in context, remember that drinking water was considered unhealthy, even dangerous. Moreover, they were right: Human waste and animal carcasses were thrown in the lakes and rivers from which water was drawn. To drink water was to risk illness and death. Everyone drank beer, hard cider, and wine. Everyone: men, women, and children. There was more beer than water aboard the Mayflower. Talk about being able to hold one’s liquor, the early Americans had practice from weaning.
The first law intent upon limiting drinking was passed in Virginia in 1629: “Ministers shall not give themselves to excess in drinking or riot or spending their time idly.”
In Massachusetts, the first attempt to limit drinking was made four years later, in 1633. That year Plymouth attempted to limit the sale of liquor to two-pence-worth at a time.
Look at the prices above: one bottle of beer is one pound; a pence is one hundredth of a pound. Twelve-ounce beer bottles were the most common, so that would limit a customer to one small drink at a time.
The laws to control an individual’s drinking failed. Instead, tight regulations were placed on those who poured the liquor. Taverners’ licenses were required, and to secure one, the man had to prove himself to be sober and respectable. The fine for selling liquor without a license was stiff. In addition, then as now, the tavern keeper was held liable for the behavior of his customers. He could lose his license if his customers were drunk and disorderly on his premises.
In Berkshire County, apparently, drinking to excess was less of a problem, perhaps because there was precious little discretionary income. There were ample places to drink; the comment that there were more taverns than churches in Berkshire was often repeated. Still, there are only a handful of court cases related to excessive drinking found in the records from that period.
In Lenox, Taverner Root was hauled into court when his customers, well lubricated, were found dancing on tables, singing, and shouting. All of those behaviors were frowned upon, if not specifically illegal, and the man who poured the drink was responsible. In Stockbridge, the Widow Anna Dix Bingham was fined for selling drinks without a license. She explained to the court that she was a widow and her husband left her the inn and tavern. He wanted her to be able to run it and begged that the court grant her a license. She was granted a license and became the first women to be licensed to open a bottle and pour the liquid into a class.
Drunk or sober, Colonel Henry Knox succeeded in bringing 50 cannons to Boston from Fort Ticonderoga through Berkshire Country along that now famous trail. With or without a snoot of beer, General Washington used the cannons to take back Boston from the British.
Were the 55 delegates drunk when they signed the Constitution? Probably not; the signing was two days after the party. Were they hung over? Probably not; tolerance is the continued subjection to a substance without adverse reaction. Tolerance of drugs or alcohol is achieved through constant use. Our forefathers, bless them, drank all day, every day.
History is interesting, not the least because it reminds us where we came from. If you think of our country as Christian and sober, it is probably from familiarity with our later history. In the mid-19th century, the Temperance Movement took hold. It attempted to wipe out not just drinking but also the memory of drinking.
The Temperance Movement was as ardent in Berkshire County as in other places. Susan B. Anthony gave her very first public address to the Daughters of Temperance. She became a crusader for women’s rights when the Sons of Temperance refused to let her speak to them. Funny the consequences and unintended consequences of alcohol use in America.
