Drinking and Voting
Throughout most of early US history there was a strong relationship between elections and alcohol. It’s amusing in a way to read about the ‘election fraud’ going on now. We have nothing on the past. Our forefathers – George Washington even! – bought votes with alcohol. When Washington was 24, he ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. He thought it was unseemly to use alcohol to gain an advantage, and even complained that there were too many taverns in the city. He was roundly defeated, 20 to 270. Three years later he held an election party and provided 28 gallons of rum, 34 gallons of wine, 50 gallons of rum punch, 2 gallons of hard cider, and 46 gallons of ale. Roughly one half gallon for every vote he received. He crushed his three rivals and won in a landslide. There was even a name for it. ‘Swilling the planters with bumbo”. Bumbo was a type of rum, and the planters were landowners – the only part of the ‘All men are created equal” who got to vote.
The custom of ‘treating’ or providing drink for eligible voters was technically illegal, but that made little difference. And its was not without some rationale. In post-colonial days, voting was much more difficult than today. It typically took a day or two – not like running to the neighborhood school or church to cast your vote today. Landowners had to travel by horse, so serving food and drink upon arrival was considered good manners – and increased your odds. Water was dangerous to drink in those days, but beer, rum, or cider were considered safe. So, it is really a matter of scale. And how bad you wanted to win.
Alcohol has been used to curry favor and secure allegiance throughout our history. It is a tradition that the colonists brought with them from Britain where wining and dining was an expected part of the election process. Interestingly enough, the process of getting landowners drunk and buying their votes with grand meals and picnics was fully accepted, if not expected. But the outright asking for votes was considered bad form. A man of integrity would never talk themselves up, lest he appear conceited. So soft suggestion and bribery ruled the day.
Throughout the 1800s, voter fraud was rampant. It was not unusual for political gangs to round up the town drunks, ply them with liquor and walk them to the voting booth to support their candidate – sometimes even changing their clothes and bringing them back to vote again as someone else (called repeaters – sometimes voting as many as 12 times). There was a common practice of kidnapping men off the street and taking them to a room – a ‘coop’- and forcing them to drink until drunk, then they were taken to vote. This practice was known as “cooping.” They were beaten into submission and beaten more if they refused to drink. It is said that the American author Edgar Allen Poe died a victim of cooping. He was found semi-unconscious on November 3rd, 1849 (Election Day) near Gunners Hall in Baltimore, which was used as a voting location. He was lying in the streets in ill-fitting clothing that were not his and appeared to be the victim of a savage beating. He floated in and out of a hallucinogenic haze for several days, and never fully regained consciousness.
Cooping was also used to suppress the vote. Immigrants were especially susceptible to being kidnapped, taken away for the day and beaten and forced to drink to subdue them to keep them from voting. The ‘rationale’ for this was that the established white voter was more reliable and informed, while the immigrant may not be fully aware of the complexity of the issues or may still be beholden to their homeland’s interests.
But while the drinking (voluntary and forced) continued throughout the 1800s, the winds of change were beginning to blow. In 1811 Maryland passed the nation’s first campaign finance reform law, strictly prohibiting the purchase of alcohol for voters. Other states slowly joined in until all alcohol was prohibited during Prohibition. After the repeal, most states maintained some restrictions on the sale of alcohol on Election day with seven states still prohibiting the sale in 2013. As of today, Puerto Rico and some jurisdictions in Alaska still prohibit the sale of alcohol on Election day.
But it is unlikely you will have to break the law to have a drink on election day this year. And we all know that with the year we have had in 2020, a drink may be just what we all need. Maybe even a shot or two.
Cheers!
- Bill Stott
AotCB-014
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