Summary: New Year’s Eve is just round the corner – and many Americans will be marking the midnight hour with a drink (or three). And it’s not just New Year's. Alcohol has been part of American celebrations – and the American experience – since the country’s inception. Founding fathers like Benjamin Franklin loved the hard stuff so much he compiled "The Drinker's Dictionary," featuring 228 synonyms for the word "drunk"! So in this episode, we dive into alcohol in the American past, and emerge without a hangover… We'll explore when and why the consumption and production of alcohol has ebbed and flowed over American history, consider why rum became the drink of choice among revolutionary troops, explore why American Indians were rejecting alcohol two centuries before the rest of the country, and follow the long march toward Prohibition. For more on the stories and guests featured in this episode, and for an array of resources on the history of alcohol in America, check out BackStory's website: http://backstoryradio.org/?p=11576.
