National Minimum Drinking Age Act
Alcohol at 18? Something to Consider
The universal question; should the age for drinking be lowered? In my personal opinion, I believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen from twenty one for various reasons. The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, but the illegal drinking age is everything under. Why is the main question asked. Some people believe that twenty one is too high to be the minimum age to be able to legally drink and others feel that it is the perfect age. This topic is very huge and has been debated for years. The United States drinking age has gone up and down and in 1984, it went up to twenty one. Many events took place before the drinking age went up. It all began when the United States slowly tried to ban alcohol in every state for every person no matter what your age was. They did succeed. This is called Prohibition. Prohibition started in 1919 and lasted until 1933. When Prohibition started, the Constitution gained the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment “prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages”. However, this amendment was removed in 1933 by the 21th amendment, which made beer and other alcohol legal. Once Prohibition ended, each state created their own set of drinking laws. Some were twenty one; others were eighteen, and then some in between. This lasted for a few years, but then the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 came along. This act forced all states to change their drinking age to twenty one or lose part of the Federal-aid highway funds. It also said the states should pass laws that helped fight drunk driving. So, the drinking ages were set to twenty one, but this can change. Prohibition and safety issues, like underground drinking, are all factors that must be considered in making this decision. Because of these factors, the national drinking age of the United States should be lowered from twenty one to eighteen. Think for a moment on how many young adult or teenagers
The universal question; should the age for drinking be lowered? In my personal opinion, I believe that the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen from twenty one for various reasons. The legal drinking age is currently twenty-one, but the illegal drinking age is everything under. Why is the main question asked. Some people believe that twenty one is too high to be the minimum age to be able to legally drink and others feel that it is the perfect age. This topic is very huge and has been debated for years. The United States drinking age has gone up and down and in 1984, it went up to twenty one. Many events took place before the drinking age went up. It all began when the United States slowly tried to ban alcohol in every state for every person no matter what your age was. They did succeed. This is called Prohibition. Prohibition started in 1919 and lasted until 1933. When Prohibition started, the Constitution gained the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment “prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages”. However, this amendment was removed in 1933 by the 21th amendment, which made beer and other alcohol legal. Once Prohibition ended, each state created their own set of drinking laws. Some were twenty one; others were eighteen, and then some in between. This lasted for a few years, but then the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 came along. This act forced all states to change their drinking age to twenty one or lose part of the Federal-aid highway funds. It also said the states should pass laws that helped fight drunk driving. So, the drinking ages were set to twenty one, but this can change. Prohibition and safety issues, like underground drinking, are all factors that must be considered in making this decision. Because of these factors, the national drinking age of the United States should be lowered from twenty one to eighteen. Think for a moment on how many young adult or teenagers
Citations: G., Harold, Wyoming, and MI. "Drinking Age Should Be Lowered | Teen Essay on Drugs | Teen Ink." Teen Ink | A teen literary magazine and website. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://teenink.com/opinion/drugs_alcohol_smoking/article/48104/Drinking-Age-Should-Be-Lowered/>. Engs, Ruth C.. "Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research ." Why the drinking age should be lowered: An opinion based upon research . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/cqoped.html >. "National Youth Rights Association » Legislative Analysis of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act." National Youth Rights Association . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.youthrights.org/research/library/legislative-analysis-of-the-national-minimum-drinking-age-act/>. "Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?." Drinking Age ProCon.org . N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <drinkingage.procon.org/ >. Nothing, stander Apathy: Good Men Doing. "The Sole Morality: The Drinking Age and The Lessons of Prohibition." The Sole Morality. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://blog.solemorality.com/2009/03/drinking-age-and-lessons-of-prohibition.html>. "The Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age." 60 Minutes. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/60minutes/main4813571.shtml >. "Temperance & Prohibition." Temperance & Prohibition. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. <http://prohibition.osu.edu/>.