Brief History of the Drinking Age

History speaks for itself and the history of the 21 minimum drinking age law is no exception. As one of the nation’s most scrutinized laws, there is wealth of data on the law’s effectiveness and why it works. (1-7) And it is the history of that law that best illustrates that fact. (8)

For almost 40 years, most states voluntarily set their minimum drinking age law at 21. But at the height of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, 29 states began lowering their drinking age to more closely align with the newly reduced military enlistment and voting age. And of those 29 states,  no uniformity in age limits—drinking ages varied from 18 to 20 and sometimes even varied based on the type of alcohol being consumed (e.g. 18 for beer, 20 for liquor). 

The results of this “natural experiment” were fairly immediate and hard to miss: The decrease in the drinking age brought about an increase in alcohol traffic fatalities and injuries. So much so that, by 1983, 16 states voluntarily raised their drinking age back to 21—a move that brought about an immediate decrease in drinking and driving traffic fatalities incidents.

Some states, however, kept a lower drinking age. This created a patchwork of states with varied drinking ages that led to what was known as “blood borders”. They were called blood borders because teens would drive across state lines, drink and then drive back home across state lines killing and injuring themselves and others.

Around this time, the nation began taking a firm stance on the issue of drunk driving. And because it was apparent that a 21 drinking age law reduced alcohol-related fatalities and injuries, there was a groundswell to help decrease drunk driving deaths and injuries by raising the minimum drinking age to 21. President Ronald Reagan responded to growing evidence that a 21 drinking age law would save lives.    

On July 17, 1984, President Reagan signed into law the Uniform Drinking Age Act mandating all states to adopt 21 as the legal drinking age within five years. By 1988, all states had set 21 as the minimum drinking age, which is where it should remain.

Since that time, the 21 minimum drinking age law has saved about 900 lives per year as estimated by the National Traffic Highway Administration (NHTSA). (9-11) In short, there are more than 17,000 people alive today since all states adopted the law in 1988. That’s about as many people in a sold-out crowd at a professional basketball game or a medium-sized U.S. college.

In fact, the 21 minimum drinking age law has been heralded as one of the most effective public safety laws ever passed. It is also one of the nation’s most examined laws with countless studies that been conducted to measure the law’s effectiveness—all of which have come to the same conclusion: the law saves lives.

Youth drinking rates have also declined since the 21 age law went into effect. The 2006 Monitoring the Future study shows declining alcohol consumption among American youth, although alcohol use continues to be widespread among today's youth. A look at all of the research on the minimum drinking age from 1960 to 2000 found that the bulk of the evidence shows that 21 minimum drinking age laws decrease underage consumption of alcohol. Even over the last 15 years, after the passage of the 21 minimum drinking age laws, the percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who drank alcohol in the past year decreased 38 percent, 23 percent and 14 percent respectively. (12)

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