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Coffee and the Politics of the United States
by Janet Gertress
http://www.ftfcoffee.com
The United States has a powerful history and a great deal
to offer to the world, for such a young country. A lot of
this history is rather unique. Let us take as an example,
how coffee, and not just tea, has played an important role
in some of the most important events in the history of our
country, even as it was being formed with the signing of
the Declaration of Independence.
We all know about the Boston Tea Party because we learned
it in our American History courses. This event took place
in 1773. The history books tell us that America was
demanding its freedom from English rule. England was
making way too much money off its American colony to give
her independence, and continued to impose harsh taxes on
tea and other products that came into American ports. The
American revolutionaries used this as a focal point to
destroy all of the tea which was on the ships in Boston
Harbor. This was, of course, Boston Tea Party. What you
probably don't know is that, as an act of rebellion and to
express their desire for freedom from the British,
Americans began drinking coffee instead of tea. Because of
that event, coffee became known as our national beverage.
When the future leaders of America were planning the
revolution and drafting the country's Constitution during
the Revolution, they had a lot of things to discuss. A new
country was being formed, revolution was forming and this
country was in turmoil. Our founding fathers held a lot of
meetings. Today we would consider these power meetings.
They were constantly getting together to work out the
details of the constitution, and all of these meetings were
held while our forefathers were sipping hot cups of coffee
in what we would today call coffeehouses.
Between 1846 and 1848, soldiers who went to the front lines
in the Mexican-American War brought along coffee with
them, which they cherished as their most valuable
commodity. No matter what they might have to face, they
were comforted by the fact that they would either have a
hot cup of coffee to look forward to, or could use the
coffee as a valuable tool for trading.
There is always new bit of trivia about the Civil War
that afficcionados of this war like to share about its
complicated battles and the brave troops who fought them.
Historians go on about a particular battle strategy, or a
notable figure. The diaries of soldiers that were found
after this war have been made into movies. We often see
pictures of soldiers sitting around the campfire or their
tents at night, cleaning their weapons or writing letters
to loved ones at home. We don't know too much about their
food rations. The primary ration in the Civil War Soldier's
daily food allowance was coffee beans.
The successful moon landing of Apollo 11 occurred in 1969.
It was all we talked about in American at that time. We can
still picture Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landing,
walking on the moon, posting the American flag and even the
notorious golf game. What you didn't see was what the
first meal those astronauts had on the moon. Their first
meal was accompanied by coffee, making it the first
beverage to be consumed on the surface of the moon.
With all of the negative hype that coffee has been given,
due to its high level of caffeine, this much-loved beverage
continues to enjoy its place as one of the most popular
hot beverages within the 50 states, and according to
American history, the coffee drinkers of today are in very
good company.
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