gin act
The Gin Debate: Liquor Legislation in Eighteenth Century England Jeremy Weiss The temperance movement in eighteenth century England had much in common with the battle over the abolition of slavery in nineteenth century America. ... Furthermore, to remove gin or slaves was to do away with a way of life that had unfortunately become an integral part of their respective societies. ... It was into such a financially concerned environment that the Gin Act of 1751 was born in Great Britain. ... Gin consumption had become a serious problem and the conservative businessmen clashed with the liberal social reformers over how to solve it. The opponents of this legislation can be defined as any person or organization who was opposed to the ratification of the Gin Act. ... ” Thus Defoe cited the economic importance of gin production for the upper class. ... In 1736, the year of the first major gin act, Pulteney brought up the dependence of so many working families on liquor manufacture. ... There also existed other financial reasons for citizens to oppose the institution of the Gin Act. ... One member of parliament placed the value of tax money to be lost with the strict regulation of gin at over 70,000 pounds in 1736. ... John Moore, a wealthy distiller, was advised in 1736 that, “This year’s gin act. ... The problems that led to the Gin Acts arose because of the extreme drunkenness of the poor resulting from the phenomena of urbanization and skyrocketing amounts of inexpensive gin.