foodspo as written by others

everything from toast to total banquet

[edible-words]

Before, transporting a ton of grain by wagon had cost between fifteen and twenty-five cents a mile, but now the price was two cents or less by boat.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Just as they were getting established, the neighborhood was decimated by the "milk sickness," caused by local dairy cows grazing on white snakeroot, a plant highly toxic to humans, and thereby contaminating the community's milk supply.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

That winter Abe, aged seven, spent most of the time, axe in hand, helping clear the trees so they could plant corn the following spring.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

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These were usually little more than gentlemanly finishing schools, where students studied classics, mathematics, and some traditional science in an atmosphere of confined religiosity punctuated by binge drinking and evangelical revivals.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

But those who felt strongly about the need to take a firm line against alcohol, gambling, and commercialization tended to vote for Whig candidates.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

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In Greenfield, Ohio, a saloon brawl ended in gunshots that killed a passerby. He was, according to a witness called Mother Stewart, "the son and only support of an aged and feeble widow. There was no law to reach the case, but a large number of respectable ladies of the town, after some secret counsels, accompanied by the bereaved mother, proceeded to the saloon and with axes and some other weapons knocked in the heads of barrels and casks, and demolished bottles and fixtures."

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Lyman Beecher was one of the founders of the American Temperance Society in 1826; within a decade it boasted 8,000 local chapters and 1.5 million members who had voluntarily "taken the pledge" against demon drink. Women were usually prime victims of male alcoholism – beaten, abused, and left to run the home – so, not surprisingly, they played a major role in temperance agitation.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Candidates were chosen by a nominating convention of the whole party, backed by party newspapers, and the electorate was mobilized to vote through food, drink, and mass rallies.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

After a long day of marching and figuring, recalled Lieutenant James Scott, Cockburn's aide-de-camp, "Never was nectar more grateful to the palates of the gods than the crystal goblet of Madeira and water I quaffed off at Mr. Madison's expense."

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

A mile up Pennsylvania Avenue they found the president's table set for forty people, with wine in the coolers.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

The best way to ship consumer goods such as coffee and sugar and vital naval stores into Europe was by using a neutral country with a large merchant navy, and the United States was more than happy to oblige.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

From this story emerged the legendary figure of "Molly Pitcher" – a woman who carried water among the troops, quenching their thirst or cooling the guns.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Spain was a particular headache for the new republic, since it controlled much of the Mississippi (then western border of the United States) – including the port of New Orleans, through which the West's vital exports such as flour, meat, and tobacco passed.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Lumber, fish, and salted meat remained profitable northern exports, but the key commodities were tobacco, rice, and, increasingly, cotton from the South – cultivated by slave labor.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

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"(...) They might be seen scattered about in every direction, dead and dying, with pieces of ears of burnt Indian corn in the hands and mouths."

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

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One of those involved, Joseph Martin from Connecticut, explained their grievances: "For several days . . . we got a little musty bread, and a little beef about every other day, but this lasted only a short time and then we got nothing at all. (...)"

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds

[edible-words]

Their staple food was "fire cake" – flour mixed with water and baked into coals or on a stick.

"America, Empire of Liberty: A New History of the United States," revised and updated edition - David Reynolds