Why We Owe the Settling of Our Country to a Lack of Beer

The first thing I want to do is give you some background into the Puritans, who will be representative of the early literature we read. What I hope to do is dispel some fairly common misperceptions about them. We often tend to see the Puritans with a pretty narrow focus--joyless, sexless, judgmental to a fault, obsessed with religion, and way too fond of black. No wonder, then, that current Americans would be more than a little put off at the suggestion that much of what the Puritans valued and believed still thrives in America today. This can create serious problems when trying to read and discuss Puritan writing, because our preconceptions get in the way. As is too often the case, we tend to view them through the prism of modern living and contemporary values and culture, rather than try to understand them within their own world and time.

First, did they come here seeking religious freedom? Yes and no. They were indeed looking for a place where they could freely practice their faith; Europe in their eyes had become too corrupted. The Puritans weren't terribly persecuted in Europe, but the advancements of science and learning were creating an environment hostile to the rigid views of the Puritans. (I'll discuss those views in a little more detail as we get into the literature.) Sometimes, though, we misconstrue this goal for their own free practice of their faith to mean that the Puritans advocated religious freedom as a whole. They did not, and in fact could be quite intolerant of those who believed differently than they did. This was not necessarily a huge problem, though, because the Puritans fully intended to set up their own communities separate from other "heathenish" communities. Basically, one could worship as one wished--unless one were a member of a Puritan community, or one's activities were perceived as a threat to the integrity of the Puritan community (we will see this played out in the literature). So while we like to tell ourselves that America was founded on a principle of religious tolerance, it was not.

But again, it's easy for us to be harshly judgmental when looking at them from the relative comforts of 21st century America. What the Puritans understood, and what we need to understand, is that a cohesive and unilateral community was not simply a boon--it was essential to their survival. First, keep in mind that the voyage here was long and extremely trying. The Atlantic Ocean is typically rough, which resulted in a good deal of seasickness. So what? Well, persistent seasickness leads to dehydration, and dehydration leads to death. So why not drink water? There was actually very little clean water available for voyages, which is why beer was the most common drink. Beer has alcohol, which meant no disease-causing or illness-inducing organisms would be present. Unfortunately, alcohol also dehydrates (thus hangovers). Those on the Mayflower had originally planned to settle in the Hudson River Valley in New York, but instead settled upon Massachusetts. Among the reasons--the settlers had run out of beer.

New England, 1635

Second, imagine what it's like to set foot on a place you've never seen before, and that you are going to have to build from scratch. You are completely disconnected from the place you've called home (no phone calls, no emails, no quick plane rides), which means that you've left family and friends that you will likely never see again. Who knows what is in the woods that surround you? No wonder these settlers referred to this new land as a "howling wilderness," a place populated by demons. Third, in their first winter here--and winters are quite difficult in New England--they encountered a particularly brutal winter, and over 200 of those who came died. Simply put, before we dismiss the Puritans as a harsh and mean-spirited people, let's keep in mind that they were confronting a frightening and harsh place. If they were going to survive, they needed order, not chaos. And order is what they fought for.