The discovery of addiction. Changing conceptions of habitual drunkenness in America.
The modern conception of alcoholism as a progressive, addictive disease dates from the late 18th century. By the mid-1800s it had become an integral part of American Temperance thought, as did the belief that total abstinence offered the only remedy for intemperance.
D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000266:history; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000266:history*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000266:history*; D013695:Temperance / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States