The Puritans get a bad rap in America - especially when it comes to alcohol. They are generally blamed for putting the dampeners on any form of fun, and many people assume that it was the nation's puritanical roots coming to the surface when Prohibition was introduced in 1917.
But while they weren't exactly party animals, a new exhibition at the US National Archives reveals that the Puritans actually approved of drink.
"One of the things we understand now is that the initial ship that came over from England to Massachusetts Bay actually carried more beer than water," says Bruce Bustard, senior curator of Spirited Republic: Alcohol in American History.
In fact Increase Mather, a prominent Puritan minister of the period, delivered a sermon in which he described alcohol as being "a good creature of God" - although the drunkard was "of the devil."
Early Americans even took a healthful dram for breakfast, whiskey was a typical lunchtime tipple, ale accompanied supper and the day ended with a nightcap. Continuous imbibing clearly built up a tolerance as most Americans in 1790 consumed an average 5.8 gallons of pure alcohol a year. » | Jane O’Brien | BBC News, Washington | Sunday, March 08, 2015
