"Betwixt brewings"
[thesis]
Michael Stephen Hevel
This dissertation offers a history of white college students' relationship with alcohol between 1820 and 1933. These years frame a long crisis regarding alcohol in the United States. A dramatic rise in alcohol consumption began around 1800, the negative consequences of which led growing numbers of Americans, for the first time, to associate social evils with alcohol use. These initial realizations gave rise to the temperance reform movement that ebbed and flowed over the next hundred years,
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... hing the pinnacle of its success in 1920, when national Prohibition became law. During this long century, college students' alcohol use often served as microcosm of developments within society. Making contributions to the historiography of higher education, historiography of alcohol, and modern research on college student drinking, this study relies primarily on three types of sources that provide different perspectives on both students' behaviors and concerns about drinking on campus. Based on a large collection of student diaries, chapters one and two consider college students' alcohol use in the forty years preceding the U.S. Civil War. Chapter one considers the behavioral patterns and significance of college men's drinking; chapter two focuses primarily on the influence of the temperance reform movement on college students. Chapter three considers depictions of student drinking in twenty-two "college novels"-works of fiction set predominantly on campuses with students as their protagonists-published between 1869 and 1933. Finally, chapter four draws on the surviving administrative records at four institutions to consider the effects on campus discipline of national Prohibition. Across the nation's long century of conflict over alcohol, four themes emerge regarding college student drinking. First, drinking behaviors and attitudes toward alcohol on campus have long reflected those in the larger society. College students' alcohol use has generally mirrored that of adults in the segments of society from which they hailed or those iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During her service as First Lady of the United States in the 1990s, Hillary Clinton received criticism from some conservatives when she argued that "it takes a village"-rather than just two parents-to raise a child. How embarrassing for me, then, that the support necessary to write this dissertation seems to have required the resources of a medium-sized city. In the twenty-six years of my life that passed before I arrived at the University of Iowa, I gained friends, colleagues, and mentors who helped prepare me for and sustain me through my doctoral education and the dissertation process. Since a fateful day in March 1993, Theresa (Drumm) Biggs has been a great best friend. Our lives took different, but always connected, paths after high school. I am grateful for her continued friendship and, now, her haircuts. At the University of Kansas, Danny Kaiser, Robert Page, Kenneth Stoner, Diana Robertson, and especially Randy Timm exposed me to the possibility of a career in higher education. Faculty members at Bowling Green State University, especially Maureen Wilson, Mike Coomes, Carney Strange, and Ellen Broido mentored and, to a large extent, put up with a particularly young and overly confident master's student. I also met three comrades at BGSU, Chad Argotsinger, Nicole Craven, and Kurt Foriska, who made my two years in Ohio incredibly fun and continue to bring me good cheer in the years after our graduation. Chad also played host, chauffer, and tour guide during my dissertation research visits to the American Antiquarian Society and Smith College. As my time in Ohio came to a close, I accepted a job at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon that took me far away from my midwestern homeland. Vonnie Martin welcomed me to Oregon and, in many ways, served as a surrogate mother during my three years there. Hans Bernard, Ryan Hamacheck, Bernie Liang, and Michael Ross made my professional transition to Willamette smooth while also becoming close friends. Komo Bains, Daniel Borgen, Kody Leonard, Robert Smith, and Doug Windedahl ensured I had an active social life while I lived in Oregon, not to mention when I visit the Pacific v Northwest today. In the weeks between my defense and the final deposit of my dissertation, Bob Hawkinson, a long-serving professor of politics and dean of campus life emeritus at Willamette University, passed away unexpectedly. Bob first encouraged my scholarly interest in the history of higher education, and I know he would have loved the opportunity to read what follows. The University of Iowa proved to be a wonderful place to become a scholar. Faculty members in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies provided me with flexibility to explore my interests and hone my research skills. Karen Bixby and Janice Latta, two top-notch administrative support staff, gave me with much needed guidance, often at the last minute. Christopher Morphew arrived at Iowa after I had completed my coursework, but he has nonetheless offered me particularly sage advice in the last two years. The faculty and students in the Department of History opened their courses to an interloper, much to my benefit. For the past three years, I have been fortunate to have office space within the College of Education's Grants and Research Services Center and interact almost daily with Elizabeth Constantine, Valia Dentino, and Teresa Garringer. Liz and Val edited countless grant proposals I wrote and helped me find the right words for cover letters and dissertation chapters. I developed deep intellectual and personal relationships with many of my fellow graduate students over the last five years, but four deserve special mention. Just as had happened at BGSU, Georgianna Martin arrived at Iowa one year after I did. Just as had happened at BGSU, I have enjoyed sharing many of my graduate school experiences with her. Kathy Goodman was a new face when I arrived at Iowa, though she quickly became a good friend. Our regular dinners at the Olive Garden will always be an intellectual and social, if not culinary, highlight of my time in Iowa City. DeeAnn Grove and Karissa Haugeberg improved much of the writing that follows by being asked to read far too many drafts of this dissertation. Karissa was a pleasant partner, if not mentor, as we finished our dissertations together. DeeAnn found herself in the unenviable position of sharing an office with me the past three years, dealing with my organizational vi scheme that primarily consisted of piling papers, books, and Diet Pepsi cans on every useable surface. That I hope my days of office sharing are over is due in part because I can't imagine finding a better companion. Since beginning my dissertation, I have been fortunate to receive a Bordin Fellowship from the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library, a Friends of Princeton University Libraries Research Grant, and a Travel-to-Collections Grant from the Sophia Smith Collection and Smith College Archives to fund research trips. Monies from the University of Iowa's Graduate College, College of Education, and the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies provided additional resources for research trips and to present initial findings at several conferences. Receiving a University of Iowa Seashore and Ballard Dissertation Fellowship this past year provided the time and freedom necessary to complete this dissertation. Historians rely heavily on librarians and their libraries and archivists and their archives. Beyond the staff at the University of Iowa Libraries who fulfilled numerous interlibrary loan requests and book recalls, librarians and archivists from repositories across the country helped make this dissertation possible. Those who deserve individual mention for their assistance are: Karen Jania at the University of Michigan's Bentley Historical Library; Elizabeth Pope at the American Antiquarian Society; Nanci Young at the Smith College Archives; Jamie Cantoni, Jeremy Dibbell, and Elaine Grublin at the Massachusetts Historical Society; Tanya Zanish-Belcher and Brad Kuennen at the Iowa State University Archives; and Daniel Linke at Princeton University Archives. My dissertation committee was an intellectual powerhouse and any errors of fact or interpretation that follow occur despite their best efforts. Dottie Persson first exposed me to the intellectual resources of the University of Iowa Libraries and instilled in me the importance of accurate citations. Her kind questioning of my progress served as a regular reminder to finish this project. Ernie Pascarella joined my committee with enthusiasm, despite my study being far removed from his quantitative comfort zone. Katrina Sanders vii first taught me historical research methods in the spring of 2007 and then allowed me to help teach the course two years later. For two years, Katrina also provided me with the professionally enriching opportunity to be an editorial assistant for the book reviews published in History of Education Quarterly. In 2008, Linda Kerber welcomed me into her research seminar and has promoted my scholarly development ever since. Chris Ogren has been the advisor and mentor most graduate students can only dream about. She encouraged me to undertake an ambitious project, supported me along the way, and, as this manuscript neared completion and deadlines loomed, returned closely read drafts with remarkable speed. My higher education and this dissertation would have been impossible without the support of my family. I was blessed to know and be loved by five grandparents: Beatrice Eckles; William and Wanda Hevel; and Melville and Ruth Hopper. Only my Grandma Hevel survives, and I'm grateful for the times we have shared during my five years in Iowa. For almost a quarter century, my Grandma and Grandpa Hopper provided both materially and emotionally for my happiness. I continue to miss them terribly. My aunt, Laura Kaiser, helped cover some of my undergraduate college expenses and paved the way in terms of graduate education in our family when she graduated with her master's degree on the same day I graduated with my bachelor's degree in 2001. Mike and Julie Schmidt have been amazing in-laws for almost six years. They let their youngest son move to Iowa with me and have funded a large portion of the adventure. A couple times each year their home has served as a welcome respite from scholarly deadlines for me. My regular visits to Portland have been brightened by the company and hospitality of additional in-laws, Grandma Monson and Grandpa Schmidt, two spectacular individuals who came into my life only a year after I lost two of my grandparents. Few people have had to put up with me as long and as regularly as my siblings, Joshua, Emily, Erin, and Matthew. The writing of this dissertation was pleasantly viii interrupted by vacations, funded by our parents, to Colorado and New Jersey, holidays, and impromptu visits with them. I hope, though I do not promise, to be less grumpy on similar endeavors in the future now that the weight of this project has been lifted. No two people deserve more credit for my successes and less blame for my shortcomings than my parents, Mike and Cindy Hevel. My dad instilled in me both a passion for public education and a love of history. My mom, who is my favorite person in the world, made more tangible contributions to this dissertation. Over the course of many months, she transcribed well over one thousand pages of discipline records, the sources for chapter four, so that I might analyze them and finish this dissertation in a timely fashion. Even after the countless hours spent typing, she edited the final draft, finding grammatical and stylistic errors that I (and others) had overlooked many times. My parents have invested a great deal of time and treasure in me over the past three decades; I strive to be deserving of their sacrifices. Lane Schmidt, who braved the unknown and moved away from his home in Portland to join me in Iowa in 2006, has lived the day-to-day progresses and setbacks that comprised this dissertation more than anyone else. For the past five years, he has allowed me to live in an immaculately clean house, made sure that I had clean clothes to wear, limited my fashion mistakes, made me many meals, and, along the way, earned his own college degree. When I had my doubts about my decisions or abilities, he expressed his unwavering confidence. Lane also regularly reminded me that there was a life to live, a life to share, outside the walls of the library and beyond my computer screen. It is with great pleasure, and with love, that I am finally able to dedicate this dissertation to him and my parents. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .
doi:10.17077/etd.4efyczjq
fatcat:uqwq7t6vkzatdcw5lawbqfgy6y