People Are Boozing Like It's 1860 As Americans Have Reached Civil War Levels Of Alcohol Consumption

1860 was a major turning point in American history. It marked the beginning of the Civil War, a bloody conflict that tore the nation apart. It did the same to families. Brother fought brother in a war that shaped our nation for generations to come.

It was also a time when people were getting absolutely sauced.

According to The New York Post, a recent study shows we're on track to hit those same levels now, in the Year of our Lord 2023.

In 2021, the average American is believed to have consumed 2.51 gallons of ethanol, the version of alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits.

Back in the days of the Civil War, when trains were new-fangled and the best treatment for a gangrenous limb was to take a swig of hooch and lop it off, people were people averaged 2.53 gallons per year.

According to a recent study, people have been drinking a lot more of these. (Getty Images)

People Are Drinking A Lot Of Booze, But Not The Most Ever

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is behind the study that scrounged together these figures. While that's high and on par with the 1860s, it's not the highest it has been in modern history.

Back in the early 1980s, the average American consumed over 2.7 gallons of ethanol.

The NIAAA folks determined that the average drink contains 0.6 ounces of ethanol. That means the average person is tipping back more than 500 drinks each year.

For some people, their actual total is well below that. For others, it's probably much higher, unfortunately.

The Post got Hilary Sheinbaum — author of "The Dry Challenge" — to give her take on this uptick in boozing.

“During stressful times, people tend to drink more,” Hilary Sheinbaum, author of “The Dry Challenge,” told The Post. “People want to turn to a vice to relax them.”

I think most people could've figured that one out, but it's always nice to get an expert's take on things.

While it may be fair to say alcohol consumption is going up, we do know one other related fact: Bud Light consumption is going down.

Waaaaaaaay down.

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