A Drinking Society
In most societies; whether it be for religious or social purposes, people drink. This is no different in America, but its usage has varied in American history. This is due to an alcohol prohibition, war and changing the drinking age to 21 years old. I am sure of my hypothesis because the ngram for *_ADJ drinking, corresponds to my reasoning.
In 1920, The United States banned the sale, production and transportation of alcoholic drinks. This dramatic change lowered the number of people who were drinking in public places, simply because it was illegal to do so. This changed once the prohibition had been abolished in 1933. The ngram for “public drinking” coveys just as previously stated. At around the 1920s, the data for “public drinking” illustrated a decrease and then around 1933, when the abolishment occurred, there is an increase in the data. Furthermore, social drinking demonstrated a fairly dramatic increase after the end of prohibition. This is also a result of alcohol becoming tolerated again. This goes to further illustrate the prohibition’s effect on drinking in America.
During war, it is often hard to remain calm. Because of this, it is no surprise that from World War 2 through the Cold War, that excessive, heavy and social drinking increased. The reason for the increase is that the soldiers that were away at war, probably returned with PTSD and what better way to ease one’s nerves than with some alcohol. Furthermore, there were people at home who feared the world was going to end, so they were more inclined to drink. This can all be observed in the same Ngram that is previously mentioned (*_ADJ drinking). On this graph there is a solid increase in heavy and excessive drinking around when the United States entered World War 2, which didn’t decrease until around the end of the Cold War.
When the federal government decided to rise the drinking age from 18 to 21 years old, in 1984, it too had an effect on American society’s...