The temperance campaign ignites, spearheaded by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. After the Civil War, the country’s population swells with immigrants, who bring their drinking customs with them from Ireland, Germany, Italy and other European countries. As a wave of spiritual fervor for reform sweeps the country, many women and men begin to see alcohol as a scourge. Alcohol abuse wreaks havoc on the lives of many families. But by 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumes nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year, three times as much as we drink today. Since the early years of the American Republic, alcohol has been embedded in the fabric of American culture.
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