THE SPIRITS OF PATRIOTISM -- PART I 2002-12-04 by Pam North From the time that man first experienced the heady effects of alcohol and its ability to make the world seem a better place, he attached great importance to it. America's personal history of drink began when the first settlers stepped ashore with their kegs of spirits and the desire to replenish their dwindling supplies, and they were hardly unpacked before the landscape was being scanned for the raw materials of strong drink. The white man was quick to use the influence of alcohol to make good deals with the Indians. Many treaties in which the Indians gave away their land were signed after they had been liberally plied with liquor. The clergy, surprisingly, looked favorably upon liquor in the early colonial days, encouraging the building of taverns in close proximity to the churches, for the convenience of both ministers and parishioners. Settlements did not receive a charter until they had first built a drinking establishment. Connecticut passed a law in 1644 which forced every community in the state to open and maintain a tavern, and a similar ordinance was enacted in 1656 by Massachusetts. Towns could be fined for not complying. Some early New England towns gave people free pasturage or exemptions from local taxes if they would establish taverns. Taverns have been called "the headquarters of Revolution, the cradle of Independence, and the seedbed of Rebellion." Colonial taverns were gathering places for the patriots and officers of the Continental Army. As such, they were often targets in themselves for British bullets. Many historic moments took place within various taverns throughout the colonies. Fraunces Tavern was the scene on December 7, 1783, of George Washington's farewell address to the officers of the Continental Army. In Philadelphia's Tun's Tavern, on November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was formed to protect the Continental Navy. Men disguised as Indians embarked on the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 from the Green Dragon Tavern in Boston. Daniel Webster later referred to the Green Dragon as the headquarters for the Revolution, and Paul Revere and Samuel Adams knew this bar well. Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence while rooming in the Indian Queen Tavern in Philadelphia. Inspired by the September, 1814 survival of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key composed the "Star Spangled Banner" in Baltimore's Fountain Inn Taproom. After the Sons of Liberty organized in 1768, they met at various taverns throughout the colonies. On August 14, 1769, the Stamp Tax was protested by the Sons of Liberty, assembled en masse at Boston's Liberty Tree Tavern and Robinson's Tavern at Dorcester. Following the London Government's dissolution of the Virginia House of Burgesses, outraged patriots gathered in Williamsburg's famous Raleigh Tavern to drink (George Washington paid the bill). Patrick Henry tended bar at Hanover Court House, his father-in-law's taproom, and exhorted its patrons to espouse the cause of independence and strike a blow for freedom. Taverns were the gathering places where men could give voice to their ideas and recruit others to join in the cause for national independence, and alcohol was often the means of providing the momentum to bring those sentiments to fruition. More next week on the surprisingly major role that liquor played in the birth of our nation. - - -