The Legal Drinking Age Of The United States Essay

The legal drinking age in the United States was ruled to be 21 in 1984, setting the country apart from almost all other western nations. These past 30 years have contained as much problems regarding the consumption of alcohol as one of the country’s biggest failures ever, the 18th amendment, otherwise known as prohibition. Also, the legal drinking age in the United States can be considered violation of states liberties, as the national government, albeit with good intentions, has intervened and only made matters worse. The problem of a too high drinking age has been pushed to the side and overlooked by politicians because it only affects 18 to 20 year olds. Based on the increase in teenage binge drinking, the history of altering legal consumption of alcohol, and its unenforceable nature, the legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered to 18. Throughout the history of the United States, there have been numerous attempts to either alter or control alcohol consumption, particularly for teenagers. No one can deny the attraction between teenagers and alcohol. Albeit alcohol has been around since ancient times, by the nineteenth century, temperance movement advocates in the United States had gained enough support and resources to take action. This action came in the form of the eighteenth amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. While the eighteenth amendment initially decreased the consumption of alcohol, itShow MoreRelatedThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States Essay1385 Words   |  6 Pagesbefore when they went out drinking. It is a common fact that most teenagers have had a drink of alcohol before their twenty-first birthday. Most teenagers drink regularly or in some cases, binge drink. Nobody can prevent underage drinking. When people tell a teenagers they cannot have something, it inclines them to want it even more and teenagers will go to extreme lengths to obtain it. In 1984, Congress passed the law stating the legal drinking age in the United States was twenty-one (Alcoholism)Read MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States965 Words   |  4 Pages In the United States, when a man or women turn eighteen they are considered an adult. Being eighteen, they are not acknowledged as teenagers anymore. They have more freedom and more opportunities to become independent. Some of the opportunities an eighteen years old are given are the right to vote, open bank accounts, lease their own apartment or join the military. They have equal opportunities like adults over the age of twenty-one. However, anyone between the age of eighteen through twenty areRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States1270 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout the world, the age when a child becomes an adult is at the age 18. Most people gain the right to vote, start to work for themselves, drive in certain countries. All of this being said, an additional privilege is the ability for one to be able to legally drink. The United States is one of the only countries who ´s legal drinking age is separate from the declared age of an official adult under the law. The idea of putting restrictions on a â€Å"legal† adult, makes the issue more complicatedRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States2408 Words   |  10 PagesThe Legal Drinking Age The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is, â€Å"Should the United States lower its drinking age?† There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First issue is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another concern is that drinking at a younger age can help teachRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States1479 Words   |  6 Pages The legal drinking age in the United States has been argued for many decades. The current minimal legal drinking age is twenty-one but some want to lower between eighteen and twenty. The main focus of the research conducted and opinions of people are based on the minimal legal drinking age of eighteen. The research is taken from the 1970s, when the twenty-sixth Amendment was passed in the Constitution (Wage naar, 206). It was stated that eighteen is the â€Å"age of majority†, so thirty-nine of theRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States920 Words   |  4 Pages The legal drinking age has always been a debatable topic that people argue about all the time. Alcohol has been a drug problem for the majority of our young adults all around the world. The goal is to decrease the effects of underage drinking In the United States by keeping the legal drinking law 21. Every state had the right to their own legal drinking age, therefore during the 1970 1980’s some states had 21 while others had 18. This problem was carried over when teenagers got behindRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States1345 Words   |  6 PagesWith food, there comes a variety of cultural differences with beverages. One of the most popular drink markets in the United States is energy drinks. This industry has grown significantly in the past ten years, and many of the companie s are household names, such as Red Bull, Monster, and Rockstar Energy. While they have mainstream success in the United States, many countries look down on these products because of their use of certain supplements, such as excess amounts of caffeine of taurine. SomeRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age Of The United States1783 Words   |  8 PagesPersuasive-Research Essay The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is â€Å"Should the United States lower its drinking age?† There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First thing is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another thing is drinking at a younger age can help teach culture.Read MoreThe Legal Drinking Age For The United States Government Essay1196 Words   |  5 Pagesmultiple policies that should be taken into high consideration for the United States government. However, one specific topic that needs to be addressed is the legal drinking age. As of now, the legal drinking age in America is 21. To some residents, this law is considerably reasonable. To others, having the drinking age of 21 seems unnecessary for multiple reasons. Most people would agree th at having the current drinking age allows for more responsible teens and young adults. Yet in most cases, thisRead MoreThe Legal Drinking Age At The United States Of America1698 Words   |  7 Pagesthe legal age to drink alcoholic beverages in the United States of America. Some otherwise intelligent people want to lower the legal drinking age to eighteen rather than keep it at twenty-one, the current federally mandated drinking age. In Time Magazine Mary Cary, author of Time to Lower the Drinking Age, puts forth the position that lowering the drinking age would actually be beneficial to society. Though lowering the drinking age to eighteen may lead to solutions to underage drinking, many