A Brief History
On July 17, 1984, President Reagan signed The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, requiring all states to raise the legal age for buying alcoholic beverages from 18 to 21. The penalty for states that did not comply would be a reduction in Federal highway funds.
Digging Deeper
In the Vietnam War era, a shift in public opinion regarding the age when an American could be considered an adult came about largely based on the argument that if an 18 year old could fight and possibly die for his country, then surely that same 18 year old should be allowed to vote and legally purchase alcohol for his own consumption. This argument won, and the drinking and voting ages were lowered.
By 1984, with the draft more than a decade in the past, the nation shifted again, this time in favor of reinstating the national drinking age to 21.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Should all active duty military personnel be allowed to buy alcohol?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Ellis, Wayland. Abolish The Drinking Age: The Conservative Case Against Alcohol Regulation. Lulu.com, 2016.
Kiesbye, Stefan. Should the Legal Drinking Age Be Lowered? Greenhaven Press, 2012.
The featured image in this article, a photograph of President Ronald Reagan talking with Audrey Hepburn and Robert Wolders at a private dinner for The Prince of Wales in The White House Residence, 5/2/1981, is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.
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