How The Colonial Tavern Changed American History

Alcohol, bars, and innovation have a storied relationship. Whether it’s the infamous Pet Rock, which Gary Dahl conceived while drinking with friends, or the idea behind A Few Good Men, which Aaron Sorkin thought up while bartending at the Palace Theater, alcohol has infused some of the most famous and infamous aspects of American life. However, to truly comprehend the roles alcohol, and more specifically bars, have played in America’s history, one must harken back to the Colonial era when taverns, as they were then called, helped shape American history.

While alcohol was a prominent fixture in Colonial life, oftentimes the location where one consumed said alcohol was equally as relevant. Public houses, and more specifically taverns, played an especially important role — they weren’t simply places to drink. Rather, they served as a venue to meet like-minded individuals, and functioned as clearinghouses and test beds of revolutionary ideas. As the colonies took shape, taverns became central locations for several aspects of colonial life. According to the U.S. Postal Service, early colonists adopted a practice used frequently in Europe and established taverns as a place to collect and distribute mail sent from overseas. In addition, according to the Gettysburg Historical Journal, taverns became a “means of direction for travelers, as well as settings where they could eat, drink, be entertained, and spend the night.” Taverns were also “utilized as meeting places for assemblies and courts” and became a central location for discussion and debate. In taverns across the colonies, literate patriots drank and read the news of the day aloud to their fellow revelers, thereby stoking revolutionary fervor. The network of taverns not only provided travelers with a place to rest and enjoy a beverage, but also a place to bring news from other colonies, and promulgate ideas from the likes of Thomas Paine, James Chalmers, and Thomas Jefferson.

However, arguably the taverns’ most important role in society (and American history) is the role they played in the beginning of the Revolutionary War. As anger spread throughout the colonies, many took to the tavern to discuss, argue, and debate what needed to be done. One location in particular, Boston’s Green Dragon Tavern (or as Daniel Webster put it “the Headquarters of the Revolution”) played host to the infamous “Sons Of Liberty” who, presumably after a couple of pints of spruce beer or molasses-infused porters, plotted the “Boston Tea Party.” It’s not hard to imagine why a couple of ales could have played a role in nudging along the idea of dressing like a Native American and dumping some of the East India Company’s finest tea into Boston Harbor.

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