Effects of Alcohol on the Offspring
209 Aet. II.? :Author: Nathan Allen, M.D.
Lowell, Massachusetts, Commissioner in Lunacy to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is positively certain that by the fixed laws of hereditary descent the iniquities of the parents are visited upon the children unto the second, third, and fourth generations. The term ” iniquity,” as here used, has a broad signification, in- cluding the penalties or effects of violated laws, whether those laws be expressed in the revealed command of Grod, or stamped by the same almighty power upon the human constitution.
It is proposed in the present article to notice not only one of the ways in which the law of Grod is violated, but to point out some of the consequences resulting from this violation. It is assumed that man was created a free moral agent, and placed under certain laws, physical and mental, which, in order to secure the highest objects of his existence, must be observed. As one agent having a powerful influence upon these laws, what relations does alcohol sustain to the human system, and what are some of its effects ?
First, then, what is alcohol ? By this term it is intended to include the property in all drinks that intoxicate, whether found in brandy, gin, wine, whisky, or even in beer or cider; for it is the intoxicating property that gives these drinks their significance and makes them attractive.
Alcohol is an artificial product, obtained by fermentation, and is never found in a simple state. It is a poison, both in its nature and effects; is pronounced as such by the highest authorities, and proved to be such by the tests of chemistry, as well as physiology. Alcohol, unadulterated, is a pure poison, and though taken into the system in a diluted state without at first, apparently, any injurious effects, it is still a poison, and does the work of a poisonous agent.
All standard books on poisons?of which Christison’s is, perhaps, the highest authority?represent alcohol as a poison. Says Christison : ” It constitutes a powerful narcotic poison.” Carpenter, author of the best work on physiology extant, says that alcohol ” is a dangerous poison.” All standard works upon chemistry classify it among poisons. The best writers on materia medica describe alcohol as a poison. Pereira, perhaps the most distinguished among these writers, calls it both ” an irritant and fatal poison.” The French, and the British, and the American Pharmacopoeias?high authorities everywhere in such matters?describe alcohol as a ” powerful irritant poison, rapidly causing intoxication and, in large quantities, death.” Medical dictionaries say the same thing; in fact, all standard writers on the subject agree in this description. But, to be more direct and practical, what are the effects of alcohol upon the human system ? Is it a genuine poison by this test ? This law of hereditary descent is one of the most important laws imposed upon our race, or that has been developed in its history, though, unfortunately, it is not generally understood. The most profound physiologists in all ages have maintained that in some sense there was such a connection between the parent and child, as to show a likeness or resemblance, and the best judgment or good sense of the common mind has generally admitted the same fact. Says Dr James Copland, one of the highest authorities in all physiological or medical matters in Great Britain : ” It is generally observed that the constitution, the temperament and diathesis of the offspring closely resemble the parent; and that whatever disposition to disorder, whether of structure or function, the latter may have possessed, it is liable to evince itself in the former. The writings of Owen, Huxley, and Darwin?perhaps the three most distinguished men in science at the present day?corroborate fully these statements.
Let us now make an application of this law of hereditary descent in cases of alcoholic poison ; and first, what is the tes- timony of competent witnesses upon the subject ? Says Aris- totle : ” Drunken women bring forth children like unto them- selves “; and Plutarch writes that ” one drunkard begets another.”
Dr Caldwell, once the most distinguished writer on phy- siological subjects in this country, says: “By habits of in- temperance parents not only degrade and ruin themselves, but transmit the elements of like degradation and ruin to their posterity.” In a ” Report to the Massachusetts Legislature, on Idiocy,” Dr S. Gr. Howe says: ” The habits of the parents of three hundred of the idiots were learned, and one hundred and forty-five, or nearly one-half, were reported as known to be habitual drunkards.” Dr Browne, a well-known English writer on insanity, says : ” The drunkard not only enfeebles and weakens his own nervous system, but entails mental disease upon his family.”
The author of an elaborate article in the eighth volume of the Psychological Journal of Medicine, in describing a class of persons fond of intoxicating drinks, says : ” They are the offspring of persons who have indulged in stimulants, or who have weakened the cerebral organisation b}7, vicious habits.”
Mr. Darwin says: “It is remarkable that all the diseases arising from drinking spirituous or fermented liquors are liable to become hereditary, even to the third generation, increasing, if the cause be continued, till the family becomes extinct.” As the laws of inheritance are yet imperfectly understood, it is not easy to describe exactly all the minute points, how or wherein the effects of vicious habits or practices are transmitted. It is a fact, we believe, that intemperance in parents impairs the quality or texture of the brain of offspring, and thereby depreciates the general tone of charactei and cast of mind. It is thought that alcohol stimulates the selfish propensities more than the moral sentiments and the intellect, and thus, by ren- dering parents more gross and animal, it depreciates their offspring. No two things can so injure or drag down the character of a young person as a poor quality or texture of brain, and a relative preponderance of animal development over the intellectual and moral.
It is maintained by high authority that this alcoholic poison is transmitted in the blood?that in this way it permeates the whole system, causing not only a want of vitality and strength generally, but rendering particular organs more especially liable to certain diseases.
Again, it is found sometimes that this predisposition to drink^does not show itself till the person arrives at a certain period in life, and then that the craving for drink is almost irresistible. In fact, all constitutional or hereditary predis- positions are always far more difficult to arrest and change than acquired habits. Thus it has been found very hard, and in some cases almost impossible, to reform inebriates who have inherited such predisposition.
First, then, the use of alcohol irritates and inflames the mucous membrane of the stomach to such an extent that it gradually becomes thickened and corrugated?sometimes scirrhous and cancerated, or softened and disorganised. It vitiates the gastric juice, or destroys the glands secreting it, thereby preventing the healthy digestion of food. Thus, by changing the structure and proper action of the stomach, not only the natural appetite is supplanted or rendered morbid, but the blood itself, the great supporter of life, is impoverished, and becomes tainted or impregnated with qualities very unwholesome and injurious. As a consequence of this change in the blood, both the structure and functions of other organs in the body become changed or deranged in action. The liver is enlarged or shrivelled up?is pale, fatty, scirrhous, cancerous, etc., so that the bile, its natural secretion, is changed, which prevents the proper assimilation of food, and interferes also with the healthy action of the bowels. The kidneys, at times, become affected, resulting in serious derangement or disease of those organs.
But the brain, the most important part of the body, is more unfavourably affected by alcohol than any other organ, and that, too, in a variety of ways. It tends directly to produce an unnatural stimulus of the brain, as well as an abnormal state of mind, which, together with impoverished nutrition, serves to weaken or derange it. As the brain is a complex organ, composed of a variety of parts, performing distinct functions, the effects of alcohol are very much diversified. In persons possessing a predominance of the nervous temperament it produces an unnatural excitement, a peculiar irritability, and sometimes moroseness of disposition; but where there is a deficient intellectual development, the individual is frequently silly, boisterous, and passionate, without any occasion or good reason.
There are a few great general facts, established by experi- ence, observation, and actual statistics, showing the effects of alcohol upon the human system :?
1. It is well known that this poison is productive of certain diseases, and that there is always much more sickness among those accustomed to its use; and neither skilful treat- ment, nor good nursing, nor hygienic influences relieve such persons as they do the sick who are not in the habit of using it.
2. The rate of mortality has been ascertained, both in Europe and in our own country, to be greater with this class, so much so that insurance companies will not receive applications for life insurance from such persons on as favourable terms as from other parties.
3. It is also established by statistics that about one- quarter of all the insanity existing is caused, either directly or indirectly, by alcoholic drinks.
4. More than three-fourths?to say the least?of all the inmates in criminal, reformatory, and pauper institutions have had their systems, physical and mental, injured more or less by this poison, and to this source, more than to any other or all others combined, may be attributed their relegation to these places of confinement, dependence, and degradation.
Now, if alcohol, as these facts indicate, has such a powerful influence over human organisation and destiny, what agency does it have or perform in respect to the propagation of the species ? A correct and complete answer to this inquiry is, we need not say, one of great importance. What, then, is the law of human increase, and how or in what way does this poison violate it ? This law of increase is one of the greatest funda- mental laws or first principles incorporated into the very nature of man at his creation. When he came from the hands of his Maker?with a perfect organisation which was pronounced ” very good “?he was commanded to ” be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” And notwithstanding, by a course of disobedience and rebellion, he lost the moral image and likeness of his Creator, as well as that harmony and perfection of physi- cal organisation with which he was created, that law of increase still remains, and is based upon the same great physiological standard.
But this inherent fondness for liquor is not the only evil transmitted. The whole physical system is more or less in- volved. The blood itself is tainted. There is not that sound- ness, vitality, and strength in such an organisation that there would be but for this poison. Such a constitution will not bear exposure so well, is more liable to certain diseases, will yield more readily to inflammation, and, when diseased, is not so easily relieved or cured by medical treatment. Whatever, therefore, may be the peculiar feature of this transmission, one thing is certain?the whole tendency is downward, physically, mentally, and morally, not only by injuring the constitution itself, but by increasing the power and influence of the animal propensities at the expense of the reason, the conscience, and the will.
It may be said that the sketch here given of the effects of alcohol applies only to the worst cases of drunkenness, but that moderate drinking is safe and leads to no such results. But who can limit or graduate safely the effects of a poison ? A small dose may injure one person far more than a much larger quantity another individual. Then, who can tell but that the least quantity taken may expend all its force in this very direc- tion of offspring ? Besides, is moderate drinking itself safe ? Does not all experience prove that such a habit is very liable to grow worse, and in time become ungovernable ?
Connected with this law of heredity, a very important ques- tion arises: What is man’s free agency and accountability in the matter? According to the theory of Malthus and some other writers on population, man is considered rather a passive agent, exercising but little power or influence, physiologically, over the disposition, talent, and character of offspring. But modern science is teaching us every day that there is a most intimate, direct, and legitimate connection between the parent and the child.
It behoves every man, then, above all things, to understand correctly the nature of this connection, and to take into account fully his own responsibility in the matter; for by his own nature he is created a free moral agent, and should, in the most important acts of his life, be guided certainly by the highest possible intelligence, as well as by the purest motives; since, by the laws of hereditary descent, he has, in a great measure, the character and destiny of his offspring, either for ” weal or woe,” under his control. If neither his own intelligence nor conscience will guide him, nor the moral sense of the public aid him, an enlightened posterity will yet hold him to a strict account. It could not have been the design of the Almighty that man should always remain ignorant of the most important law in the universe, as it respects human progress and welfare. As the laws of physiology become better understood, the terrible effects of intemperance upon the human system will be more clearly and definitely seen as resulting from violated laws, and that these terrible effects in an intensified form may be transmitted to offspring, even to the second, third, and fourth generations.
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.