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In America, proto-Temperance was definitely already underway as far as back as the Whiskey Rebellion, as a meaningful faction of the political support for the w

by imbnwa 3y ago

In America, proto-Temperance was definitely already underway as far as back as the Whiskey Rebellion, as a meaningful faction of the political support for the whiskey tax was in religious reformists looking to impose a de factor 'sin tax'. By the time Prohibition was passed in 1920, there'd been near a hundred years of activism behind it. Evangelism and religiously informed politics have been apart of American domestic politics for a very very long time, which shouldn't surprise as the place was a refuge for Christian sects deemed too strict or antagonistic in Europe.

panarky 3y ago
> refuge for Christian sects ... Something like 25% of European settlers were fleeing religious persecution. The vast majority were economic migrants. Religious migrants: 20,000 (Massachusetts Bay) + 3,000 (Plymouth) + 10,000 (half of Maryland) + a few thousand (Rhode Island) + a few thousand (Quakers) = around 38,000 Economic migrants: 14,000 (Jamestown) + 10,000 (half of Maryland) + tens of thousands (Scotch-Irish) + tens of thousands (Germans) + a few thousand (Dutch and Swedish colonies) + a few thousand (French and Spanish colonies) = around 90,000 at least It's a pretty sick myth that the country was founded to protect "religious freedom" when many of the Christian refugees were themselves vicious persecutors of anyone who didn't believe exactly what they believed.
cf141q5325 3y ago
The tax aspect is also referenced in the article, the dimensions are quite impressive. >When reconstructing consumption from taxes there is also the matter of personal production not captured by taxation, beer being a major product of consumption was consuming 12.5% of people’s salaries and was subsequently contributing around a 1/3 of government revenue in England and a 1/4 of government revenue in Holland, an amount equivalent to the contribution of Spanish silver to the revenue of Spain in the mid 17th century.

by imbnwa 3y ago

panarky 3y ago

> refuge for Christian sects ... Something like 25% of European settlers were fleeing religious persecution. The vast majority were economic migrants. Religious migrants: 20,000 (Massachusetts Bay) + 3,000 (Plymouth) + 10,000 (half of Maryland) + a few thousand (Rhode Island) + a few thousand (Quakers) = around 38,000 Economic migrants: 14,000 (Jamestown) + 10,000 (half of Maryland) + tens of thousands (Scotch-Irish) + tens of thousands (Germans) + a few thousand (Dutch and Swedish colonies) + a few thousand (French and Spanish colonies) = around 90,000 at least It's a pretty sick myth that the country was founded to protect "religious freedom" when many of the Christian refugees were themselves vicious persecutors of anyone who didn't believe exactly what they believed.

cf141q5325 3y ago

The tax aspect is also referenced in the article, the dimensions are quite impressive. >When reconstructing consumption from taxes there is also the matter of personal production not captured by taxation, beer being a major product of consumption was consuming 12.5% of people’s salaries and was subsequently contributing around a 1/3 of government revenue in England and a 1/4 of government revenue in Holland, an amount equivalent to the contribution of Spanish silver to the revenue of Spain in the mid 17th century.