Jeff Reilley
Dr. Michael Gagnon
History 4000
April 28, 2003
Antebellum America had a culture of tobacco use that was far more vast than today. The forms of consuming tobacco were anywhere from smoking it, sniffing it, or chewing it. Although most of the country had affection for the use of tobacco, it seemed to be more concentrated in the south. There is no real evidence of any one social class of people who chose to consume tobacco, only the differences in how they consumed it. Men, women, and children all were fascinated with the crop and the stimulant they felt when using it.
As with any popular aspect of a culture, there are always those who oppose it. Anti-tobacco movements came up every once in a while, as well as literature from doctors warning about the dangers tobacco could present to one's health. Tobacco users themselves were aware of the dangers, but they were also aware they had an addiction that would not be easily overcome.
As time passed throughout Antebellum America, the preferences and popularity of tobacco consumption changed. After the revolution the most popular form of tobacco use was smoking pipes. During this time, however, snuff use and chewing tobacco were also popular. The cigar had also been around since the middle of the eighteenth century, but was never a dominant form of tobacco use. The cigarette did not make an appearance in America until the 1850's after Europeans became fascinated with the new form of smoking.
The southerners in America were viewed by most travelers as the most habitual users of tobacco. Although tobacco use was widespread in the north, the common consumption of chewing tobacco provided a vivid picture in the minds of the travelers to the south that they would not soon forget. Most travelers observed that the farther they went south, the more universal the disgusting habit of tobacco use was.1
The habit of many southerners to chew tobacco anywhere they went was particularly unnerving to the visitors from the north and from England. One such visitor wrote a letter to the "Southern Banner" stating,
As the practice of tobacco chewing was much more common in the south then in the north, it also was not unheard of for tobacco chewers to be found spitting in public buildings in the north. Thomas Hamilton found a courtroom in New York where everybody from the judge to the witness could be found chewing tobacco.4
The differences between the north and south seem to come into a bigger light when examined more thoroughly. With most of the English travelers commenting on what they saw while on their visits, one is led to believe that the southern states had a far more common practice of tobacco use. However, this seems to mostly only pertain to chewing tobacco, which they found most disgusting.
In the urban areas of the north the practice of pipe and cigar smoking were preferred means of ingesting tobacco. In barrooms and while at home, northern men were commonly found enjoying a cigar or a pipe.
While chewing tobacco was the favored tobacco choice in the south, pipes and cigars could still be found in most areas. First hand accounts of these practices were not widely written about, due to the commonness of the practice throughout the north and in Europe.
Although there is no evidence that suggests differences in the number of tobacco users in the north and south, there is evidence that suggests there were differences in the favorite ways of consuming the weed in the north and south. There is also other evidence that suggests that tobacco consumption delineated along lines of social class.
The most socially distinguishable style of tobacco was the cigar. At first the cigar was seen as an acceptably dashing, manly trait.5
As the difference in the cost of smoking imported cigars compared to pipes became more evident, the class difference began to emerge. Americans saw the cigar as a sign of financial security and extravagance.6 Later, cigars became associated with well-fed, cajoling, conniving politicians.7 Cigars were predominantly seen in urban areas, where people could show off the power that it represented more readily.
The poorer people in rural areas were more inclined to use pipes made from either clay or corn. This was the cheapest way to smoke at the time, as cigars were their only other option.
While the practice of smoking tobacco had its social lines, so did the other forms of tobacco use. Snuff, the consumption of tobacco through the nose, was largely demonstrated by the middle and upper class. Snuff dominated in frontier regions influenced by the French, as well as the wealthy tidewater regions. The Congress and Supreme Court's practice of always keeping a box of snuff in the hallways for its members also demonstrates the prestige of snuff.8
The only form of tobacco consumption with no clear social distinction is chewing tobacco. There are accounts of every social class in America consuming tobacco in this manner, although it was by far the dirtiest way.
Tobacco use can also be divided into gender roles. Men and women each seemed to have their socially accepted consumption practice.
Women in general had the more defined role in the practice of tobacco usage. For women the cigar was never a popular choice. In addition, many women never really picked up on the habit of chewing tobacco. Although some women did chew, it was not nearly as widespread as other forms of tobacco in the female population.
The most popular form of tobacco usage for women was snuff. Women enjoyed this practice because it was generally cleaner than chew, and not as unacceptable for women as smoking cigars. It was not uncommon for a traveler to pass by a group of women in North Carolina and see them passing their snuffbox from hand to hand.9 Snuff was also consumed by women in a way that most men would not indulge. The women would rub the dust all around their mouth and hold it there until the full strength could be absorbed.10
Pipe smoking was also prevalent among women, although not as popular as snuff. It was a much more accepted practice of smoking then was cigars. Women in rural areas and on the frontier were the ones who mostly participated in the smoking of pipes. Western travelers were in awe of seeing mothers smoking a pipe while nursing their babies. However, pipe smoking may have been more prevalent then evidence suggests since Mrs. Andrew Jackson and Mrs. Zachary Taylor both smoked pipes while living in the white house.11
As times changed, and America was on the eve of the civil war, a new form of smoking was introduced to America. The cigarette was introduced to Americans from Europeans traveling in America. In 1856 the British had its first cigarette factory, opened by Robert Gloag. Soon after, a London tobacco merchant named Philip Morris opened a cigarette factory as well.12
In America the women had found a new form of smoking that they enjoyed. However, smoking was still not socially acceptable for them. Dr. T. R. Trall reported in 1854 that some of the ladies of New York were aping the foreigners, smoking tobacco through the weaker and more feminine form, which had been named the cigarette.13 The real boom of the cigarette did not hit America until late in the nineteenth century.
In contrast to women, men did not have any one particular fashion of tobacco they chose. Even though men were the only ones who smoked cigars, they also enjoyed pipes. In addition, men were by far the most likely to be found chewing tobacco, and snuff was also a delight to many of them. The only practice men never picked up in Antebellum America was the new form, the cigarette.
While the differences between region, social class, and gender defined who used tobacco and in what form, there were segments of society that were totally against any consumption of tobacco. The antitobacco movement was not necessarily against any one form of tobacco or concentrated in any region of the country. These were people, such as doctors, concerned about the healthiness of tobacco, and people against alcohol who thought it went hand and hand with tobacco.
The health aspect of the antitobacco movement was at the heart of many people's arguments against the use of tobacco. Doctors who wrote about tobacco were especially concerned with those who used tobacco in excess. One doctor wrote that tobacco slows the pulse, depresses the system, causes giddiness, creates violent pains in the stomach, brings on vomiting, and can even cause death.14
One of the first significant essays written against tobacco in the United States was by Dr. Benjamin Rush. Rush describes the disastrous effect tobacco has on ones stomach, as well as on the nerves and the mouth. Rush also argued that tobacco was expensive, caused laziness, was dirty, and was a sign of poor manners.15 However, the main point Rush makes about tobacco is its connection to alcohol. Rush writes,
There were also people who defended the use of tobacco. In particular, one letter to a paper describes how the only stimulants better for a person are coffee and tea. This author also writes that tobacco should be in no way associated with the evils of alcohol because no one has ever committed a crime while under the influence of the noxious weed.17
The antitobacco movement never caused any real changes, and with the onset of the civil war the movement quickly disappeared. It seemed as if even more Americans were using tobacco with the stress of a war looming.
Although the health warnings were rampant throughout Antebellum America, the people were still fascinated with using tobacco. Many Americans were not only aware of the warnings, but they believed them. To them their tobacco use was an addiction, and they were either unwilling or unable to break the addiction.
Charles Mackay, an English traveler, ran into one of these tobacco users and confronted him. The man was a prominent lawyer in Washington D.C. and was a tobacco chewer. The lawyer answered many questions from Mackay and in doing so he admitted that it was a disgusting habit, and that he had tried to quit many times. The man also admitted that he knew it was bad for his stomach and that he would probably die from it.18
So the question remains, what was the fascination with tobacco during antebellum times in America? It seems that doctors were aware of the dangers of tobacco just as much as we are today.
One explanation that seemed prevalent for those that used tobacco sparingly was the soothing feeling that tobacco gives the user. Many tobacco users enjoyed the stimulation they felt from getting tobacco in their bloodstream, since tobacco had a tranquilizing effect on those who used it. In addition, tobacco was also described as a means of relieving the little vexations of life and promoting times of quiet reflection. This calming feeling was especially necessary after a long day of labor.19
The affection of those who used tobacco on a more regular basis seems to be based on a different set of enjoyments that came from its consumption. If used constantly, tobacco was said to keep a constant but mild exhilaration. People seemed to think that the mind acted more promptly and continuously under its use.20
As has been portrayed, the culture of tobacco in America during the antebellum times was one of many differences, and also of many similarities. As the North progressed into a more urban society, it took on its own culture of tobacco. And as the south was predominantly rural, the differences were evident. It seems that the major difference between the two regions of the country had more to do with the manner in which they were perceived then anything else. A visitor to Georgia writes that his lectures were attended by many who heard little, because they were too busy looking for a place to spit their chewing tobacco.21
Tobacco in general was not necessarily consumed more in the south than in the north, it was more an image displayed because of the lack of manners the southerners had while chewing tobacco. The evidence of tobacco use was all over the south, with spittoons being placed in nearly every public establishment. Even if provided, the spittoons were not necessarily used, which caused greater discomfort to those who were witnessing their lack of respect.
As has been displayed throughout this paper, tobacco did not have a preference for who consumed it. The preference was in the hands of the consumer to decide which way he or she enjoyed the weed the most. No matter if one lived in the North or south, was rich or poor, or man or women, the likelihood of being a tobacco user was just as high as the next person. The consumers had a choice between smoking a pipe or cigar, using snuff, or chewing tobacco. Some segments of society enjoyed one form over another, but no segment of society was without its fair share of tobacco consumers.
1. 1 Jack Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life (New York: Harper and Row, 1988), 168
2. 2 "For the Southern Banner," Southern Banner, 16 March 1833, col. 4, p. 3
3. 3 Charles Mackay, Life and Liberty in America (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1859), 218
4. 4 Larkin 167
5. 5 Susan Wagner, Cigarette Country (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1971), 27
6. 6 Larkin 166
7. 7 Wagner 27
8. 8 Jack J. Gottsegen, Tobacco: A Study of Its Consumption in the United States (New York: Pittman Publishing Corporation, 1940), 139
9. 9 Larkin 169
10. 10 Joseph C. Robert, The Story of Tobacco in America (The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1967), 102
11. 11 Robert 105
12. 12 Wagner 33
13. 13 Wagner 112
14. 14 "The Figures and Figuratives of Tobacco," The American Whig Review, Vol. 2, Issue 6 December 1845 (New York: Wiley and Putnam) 648
15. 15 Robert 106
16. 16 Benjamin Rush, M.D., Essays, Literary, Moral and Philosophical (Philadelphia: Thomas and William Bradford, 1798, 2d ed, 1806) 267
17. 17 Asa Smith, M.D., The Enemy of Virginia, The International Magazine of Literature, Art, and Science, Vol. 5, Issue 3, March 1852 (New York: Stringer and Townsend) 312
18. 18 Mackay 219
19. 19 "Tobacco," The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 6, Issue 34, August 1860 (Boston: Atlantic Monthly Company) 199
20. 20 Tobacco 199
21. 21 Jack K. Williams, "Georgians as Seen by Ante-Bellum Travelers," Georgia Historical Quarterly 32, (1948): 163
How shall I express the horror I felt at seeing the shocking defilement which is permitted in those temples of a pure and holy God; I refer to the odious and disgusting practice of tobacco chewers.2
For some travelers it was awkward to see signs that forbid smoking, yet allowed the more offensive practice of chewing tobacco to go on without hesitation. Charles Mackey remembers seeing a sign in a railcar while traveling from South Carolina requesting the gentlemen to not spit on the stove.3One of the usual effects of smoking and chewing is thirst. This thirst cannot be allayed by water, for no sedative or even insipid liquor will be relished after the mouth and throat have been exposed to the stimulus of the smoke, or juice of Tobacco. A desire of course is excited for strong drink, and these when taken between meals soon lead to intemperance and drunkenness. One of the greatest sots I ever knew, acquired a love for ardent spirits by swallowing cuds of Tobacco, which he did, to escape detection in the use of it, for he had contracted the habit of chewing, contrary to the advice and commands of his father. He died of a Dropsy under my care in the year 1780.16
As the antitobacco movement progressed throughout the century it became more and more centered on the alcohol abuse. Dr. Rush's ideas were followed closely as the years passed and an increasing number of Reverends and Doctors began speaking out against tobacco and its connection to alcohol.