It was the only state where women could knock one back at 18. Seven of every eight 88% of the 1,323 respondents to a nonscientific nationwide poll said that active military personnel should be allowed to consume alcohol on base regardless of their age. The uniform drinking act, which compelled states to set the legal drinking age at 21 by withholding ten percent of highway funding from states that kept the minimum legal drinking age at 18, is an example of federal government overreach into state affairs. Back in the mid1980s, the minimum legal drinking age was raised on a state and national level from 18 to 21. Therefore, in 1933 the 18 th amendment was replaced by the 21 st amendment and prohibition ceased. The history of the minimum or legal drinking age, however, is not a new phenomenon. In this episode of vox almanac, voxs phil edwards explores the history of the somewhat unusual way the drinking age became 21. However, prior to the enactment of the national minimum drinking age act of 1984, the legal age when alcohol could be purchased varied from state to state. The law began to change in the 1970s when many states lowered the minimum legal drinking age along with reducing the minimum age to vote during the vietnam war. Drinking age is determined by the states, not at the federal level. Sep 08, 2008 recently 129 college and university presidents and administrators signed a petition to support a debate over whether the drinking age should be changed from 21 to 18. Teaching people to drink responsibly before they turn 21 would enormously enhance public health. Feb 10, 2015 return the drinking age to 18 and then enforce the law. In summer 2008, more than 100 college presidents and other higher education officials signed the amethyst initiative, which calls for a reexamination of the minimum legal drinking age in the united states.
Because a change in the drinking age is likely to involve lowering it from 21 to 18, we focus on estimating the effect of lowering the drinking age by this amount on alcohol consumption, costs borne by the drinker, and costs borne by other people. There was a reason many years ago that the age limit was changed to 21. The act was a controversial bill that punished every state that allowed persons below 21 years to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. Recently, there has been much hype about an online petition to lower the drinking age to 18 according to, the definition of an adult is. Recently 129 college and university presidents and administrators signed a petition to support a debate over whether the drinking age should be. The current age21 limit in the united states is higher than in canada 18 or 19, depending on the province, mexico 18, and most western. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase and publicly possess alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. This was primarily because the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1971 with the passing into law of. Jul 03, 2018 drinking age is determined by the states, not at the federal level.
On november 11, 1942, congress approves lowering the draft age to 18 and raising the upper limit to age 37. Jul 17, 2016 at the end of prohibition in the 1930s, the legal drinking age was 21. The theory behind this move was that raising the drinking age would prevent drinking and thereby lower drunk driving accidents among 18, 19, and 20yearolds. Oct 06, 2015 i recently came across this map, which shows that until 1961 in illinois, the drinking age was lower for women than it was for men. Raising the drinking age to 21 has been a disastrous 30year. The background and pro and con arguments were written by staff based upon input from the following footnotes directly referenced and sources used for general research and not directly referenced. Apr 02, 2009 in some countries the drinking age depends on special circumstances. The current system, which forbids alcohol to americans under 21, is widely flouted, with disastrous consequences. This chapter was originally published in the book interventions for addiction. Before highway funds were tied to a mandated national drinking age in 1984, some 30 states had already lowered the legal drinking age to 18 or 19. Effects of minimum drinking age laws on alcohol use, related behaviors and traffic crash.
Between 1970 and 1975, however, 29 states lowered the mlda to 18, 19, or 20. After the end of prohibition in 1933, many states kept alcohol illegal. Should the united states lower its drinking age from 21 to. Many adults point to underage drinking deaths and accidents as proof of our need to not drink before the age of 21. Some say age should be lowered to 18, but madd and others strongly disagree. The cause of the prohibition period was the ratification of the 18 th amendment in 1919 which prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages for consumption. How has the legal drinking age in iowa changed over the. While drafting the legal drinking age bill, some officials in the country opposed the different ages depending on type of alcohol. The minimum legal drinking age had been changed several times before president ronald regan finally signed the 21 minimum drinking age act in 1984. The paperback of the should the legal drinking age be lowered.
Apr 02, 2019 the uniform drinking act, which compelled states to set the legal drinking age at 21 by withholding ten percent of highway funding from states that kept the minimum legal drinking age at 18, is an example of federal government overreach into state affairs. Currently, the drinking age in all states is 21, but this is a relatively recent development. Plus, me being not us citizen, i cant really be a judge so i will point out only one thing. So many facts and reasons prove that we should not lower the drinking age to a teenager. If young adults can legally marry at 18, and join the military at 18, there is no good reason why the drinking age should not be restored to 18 as well. Drinking is legal at 21 and it should stay at the age limit.
Drinking age should be lowered says international expert. Oct 09, 2018 the background and pro and con arguments were written by staff based upon input from the following footnotes directly referenced and sources used for general research and not directly referenced. Finally, many other countries have set their minimum legal drinking age at 18. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in the united. The legal drinking age is 18 for beer and wine, and 21 for liquor. In 2010 guam decided to change their drinking age so that they could keep their 10%. Troops shouldnt have to wait until theyre 21 to drink. Turning 18 entails receiving the rights and responsibilities of adulthood to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and join the military which includes risking ones life.
Pro 1 18 is the age of adulthood in the united states, and adults should have the right to make their own decisions about alcohol consumption. Dems want to lower drinking age to 18, july 27, 2008. Young adults get to sign contracts, buy lottery tickets, elect a political leader but cant sip alcohol legally. In the bulk of the countries there are no special exceptions. So this wouldnt happen as an allatonce national change dictated from above. We are old enough to vote, to serve jury duty, to make a will, to get married, to buy cigarettes, to live on our own, to own property, to go to war and to have a job. Two have a minimum drinking age of 16 italy and malta. Lots of states followed by lowering their drinking ages, which changed the. Chile, egypt, honduras, russia, samoa and the united states. This document presents justification for a legal drinking age of 21 in all states. But in the prosperous postworld war ii years, drinking rose again. Alcohol consumption by youth in the united states wikipedia.
How has the legal drinking age in iowa changed over the years. Alcohol consumption by youth in the united states of america is an umbrella term for alcohol consumption by individuals under the age of 18 in the country although the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 in all states see national minimum drinking age act, the legal details for consumption vary greatly. List of books and articles about legal drinking age. Discover librarianselected research resources on legal drinking age from the questia online library, including fulltext online books, academic. By 1995 all 50 states had changed their minimum drinking age to 21 so that they would be able to keep their 10%. This benchmark held steady until 1971, when the minimum voting age was dropped to 18. The fact is that the vast majority of 1820 year olds who do not drink refrain from doing so because they dont want to, not because they cant or because its illegal. The highs and lows of germanys drinking culture dw 18. The legislation set the legal drinking age at 21 years. In india, the mlda ranges from 18 to 25, depending. The alcohol laws of the united states regarding minimum age for purchase have changed over. In the united states, the minimum legal age to purchase any alcohol beverage from a shop, supermarket, liquor store, bar, club or any other licensed premises is 21 years of age. Between 1970 and 1976 thirty states lowered their mlda from 21 to 18.
The pros and cons of drinking at 18 psychology today. Why the drinking age is 21 in the united states teen vogue. While a few states completely ban alcohol usage for people under 18, the. Why is 21 the legal drinking age in the united states. There are several other loopholes to americas drinking age. In drinking in america, susan cheever puts the bottle back. The alcohol laws of the united states regarding minimum age for purchase have changed over time. To sum up, keeping the drinking age at 21 is more or less a form of prohibition, and any student of us history should know that prohibition was a dismal failure.
The national minimum drinking age act of 1984 23 u. It stayed at 21 until 1972, when the legislature lowered the legal drinking age to 19 years 64 ga, chapter 1027, section 54. Facts and fallacies brief history of the mlda after prohibition, nearly all states restricting youth access to alcohol designated 21 as the minimum legal drinking age mlda. The history of the legal drinking age in the united states. The only places owned by the united states who didnt comply with the act was puerto rico and the virgin islands minimum legal drinking ages. And in many states the drinking age used to be 18 or 16, or none at all, depending on where and whe.
Its a question which will always be open to the debate and is mostly rhetorical. In 1973, iowas legal drinking age was further lowered to 18 years 65 ga, chapter 140, section 10. This benchmark held steady until 1971, when the minimum voting age was dropped to 18 and buzz began to build for a reduction. Mar 19, 2010 there was a time in our history, during the prohibition period, when no one, regardless of age, was legally allowed to drink. People may argue now and complain that its not fair that the drinking age is so high, at 21 years, and that it should be lowered to eighteen. At the end of prohibition in the 1930s, the legal drinking age was 21. Drinking is a known reality in college, just as it was 30 years ago when the legal drinking age was raised, only now it is a reality that feeds on fear of punishment. In many places, the legal drinking age was 18 up until the early 1980s. And of those 29 states, drinking ages varied from 18 to 20 and sometimes even varied based on the type of alcohol being consumed, for example, 18 for beer while 20 for liquor. When the 21st amendment to the us constitution repealed prohibition in 1933, most states set a minimum legal drinking age of 21 years. When women could drink at 18, and men at 21 the atlantic. On july 17 th 1984, the national drinking age act was passed. After all states adopted an age 21 mlda, drinking during the previous month among persons aged 18 to 20 years declined from 59% in 1985 to 40% in 1991. This act raised the drinking age to 21 and from that point is has been rooted in the national fabric since its passage.
Underage drinking in the united states what are the facts. I recently came across this map, which shows that until 1961 in illinois, the drinking age was lower for women than it was for men. As a former college president, i have joined with many of my colleagues to advocate lowering the minimum drinking age from 21 to 18, because. Engs, you believe that the drinking age should be lowered in the u. In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. In some countries the drinking age depends on special circumstances. List of books and articles about legal drinking age online. In colonial america, generally speaking, there were no drinking ages, and alcohol consumption by young teenagers was common, even in taverns. Shes professor emeritus of applied health sciences at indiana university in bloomington. Nov 07, 2019 on november 11, 1942, congress approves lowering the draft age to 18 and raising the upper limit to age 37. A new short history of drinking explores alcoholism throughout the ages. There is extensive evidence that the consumption of alcoholic beverages has occurred in most societies throughout the world and has probably occurred since the paleolithic age and certainly since the neolithic age knupfer, 1960. The drinking age should be lowered to 18 in the united states.
But the mere three years between 18 and 21 doesnt make that big of a. The legal drinking age in germany is 16, though kids must wait until theyre 18 to drink spirits. Minimum legal drinking age mlda laws provide an example of how scientific research. The united states should not lower its drinking age to 18. For example, in the netherlands, minimum drinking age depends on the type of alcohol beer and wine may be consumed at age 18. At that time, most states established the mlda for alcohol at 21 years of age, although two states set an mlda of 21 for men and 18 for women. Illinois 19331961 and oklahoma 19331976the 1976 us supreme court case craig v. Jul 17, 2014 on july 17, 1984, president ronald reagan signed the national minimum drinking age act, a law that required states to raise the drinking age to 21 or face a 10 percent cut to their federal highway. However, the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered says expert dr.
These changes occurred when the minimum age for other. Draws on eyewitness accounts, governmental views, scientific analysis, newspaper accounts, and other resources to present opposing viewpoints about the debate over whether or not the drinking age in. Among them, 18 countries have set the minimum drinking age at 18. Data obtained from several issues of the insurance fact book, published annually by. The legal drinking age should be lowered to about 18 or 19 and young adults allowed to drink in controlled environments such as restaurants, taverns, pubs and official school and university functions. Drivers over age 21 involved in fatal crashes, 19822004, united states. The federal uniform drinking age act fudaa, signed by president ronald reagan. These books provide a range of opinions on a social issue. Return the drinking age to 18 and then enforce the law. Despite serious concerns about teen drinking, fetal alcohol syndrome, and drunk driving in the decades that followed, alcohol once again took its place as an important part of american culture. Minimum legal drinking age mlda laws specify the legal age when an individual can purchase or publicly consume alcoholic beverages. Oct 05, 2012 should the legal drinking age be lowered.
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