Most states decided on the age 21 after prohibition, but the 26th amendment allowed individuals 18 and older to vote and serve in Vietnam, so several states lowered the drinking age as well. However, President Ronald Reagan, who was influenced by groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Remove Intoxicated Drivers (RID), decided to federally enforce a 21+ drinking age by signing the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. [1]He believed that doing so would decrease the number of accidents related to drunk driving, because he said that states with a drinking age of 21+ did not have as many drunk driving accidents. Reagan said that although he wished states would create their own legislation to increase the drinking age, a federal law had to be implemented to avoid blood borders, or teenagers driving to the nearest state with a lower drinking age. [2]Reagan threatened states with withholding 5% of federal funding for highways if they did not comply with increasing the drinking age to 21. And even though 21 is the legal drinking age, underage individuals still consume alcohol all the time. [3] The 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 24.8% of 14 to 15 year olds, 46.7% of 16 to 17 year olds and 68.3% of 18 to 20 year olds, drink alcohol.[4]
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- ^ "Why is the Drinking Age 21?". www.mentalfloss.com. 2018-04-08. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ "21 is the Legal Drinking Age". Consumer Information. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ Edwards, Phil (2019-08-23). "Why the US drinking age is 21". Vox. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
- ^ September 26, christina capatides CBS News; 2019; Pm, 2:12. "Does setting the legal drinking age at 21 fuel a binge drinking culture among American teens?". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
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