Taverns and drinking in early america

America Learns to Drink

A Book Review of Taverns and Drinking in Early America

21 November 2007

America Learns to Drink

A Book Review of Taverns and Drinking in Early America

Sharon V . Salinger ' book , Taverns and Drinking in Early America provides readers with an insight into the cultural and social value of taverns in the United States while it was still a colony of England Salinger gives a historical account of the how the prevalence of taverns started and why it became popular all across colonial America . The book

straddles the time when the pioneers first came to America and covers the period until the United States became an independent state , free from British colonial rule

While other works have been done in the study of taverns and its role in the history of the United States , Salinger 's work is unique because she takes the facts at face value , without overanalyzing or taking sides . Her simple and straight-forward take on the phenomenon of taverns in colonial America will be appreciated both by those who love history and those who just want a good read . This intends to take a look at the Salinger 's book in the context of the political and social conditions of the time

At the onset of reading Salinger 's Taverns and Drinking in Early America , it is easy to see the theme of stratification or divisions as reflected in the taverns of colonial America . Some taverns evolved to become venues for the social elites to socialize with people who belong to same elite class . Other taverns cater to the working class . Some other taverns were frequented by Germans or fishermen . Regardless of orientation or preference , it is easy to see that taverns during those times had an underlying premise and they have some degree of specifity as to the clienteles they cater to . As per Salinger 's words Shewbart 's and Kreyder 's ordinaries had unmistakable identities . In Shewbart 's tavern the men were bound by their labors and shared experiences of the sea . In Kreyder 's house the tie was their German ethnicity (2002 , 63 ) Regulars of a specific tavern go there because of common ties that they share with the other people who go there as well . Whether those common ties are based on economic class , ethnicity religion , race , etc . taverns provided the venue where ordinaries can express their identity . Because these regulars are among people of the same class , they find safe haven in these taverns where they celebrate their common ties and find comfort in each other

Indeed , the fact that people go to specific taverns to bond with other people they share ties with is testament to the stratification that existed in those days . Of course there are no explicit rules that prohibit anyone from entering any tavern , but ordinaries would feel out of place in taverns filled with people so different from them . The Germans would not feel comfortable in an Italian tavern , and in the...