In 1732 English reformer James Oglethorpe presented King George II with an idea to reform poverty. He wanted to bring one hundred people out from the dank conditions of the English underclass to settle an untamed portion of the New World just south of South Carolina. George took some convincing. When Oglethorpe suggested the name "Georgia," after King George himself, the king finally acquiesced. Oglethorpe could not have known that he had started the chain of events that would make him America's first prohibitionist. After clearing forests and settling in what he called "Savannah," Oglethorpe dispensed goods to the colonists. Each family received 44 gallons of beer. Alcoholic beverages at the time were much more commonly drank than they are today because the cleanliness of the water could not be counted on.
Oglethorpe became upset. When he had dispensed the beer he had given stem warnings about the dangers of alcohol and strict orders not to drink anything stronger, especially rum. He worried that rum may be the undoing of his entire Utopian enterprise. His solution was prohibition: he asked and received from the king a law against strong spirits being produced or consumed in Georgia. What was the result? Enterprising South Carolinians set up taverns just over the border that many Georgians flocked to.
Oglethorpe's frustrations continued. He decided that the solution was to pass a law against buying South Carolinian liquor. It didn't work.
?
Source: http://www.alltopics.com/first-prohibitionist-james-oglethorpe.html
hon equifax typing games javascript javascript history channel est
No comments:
Post a Comment