Abstract: City dwellers collected together in taverns to eat and drink, converse, exchange news and information, and debate politics. New York City stood at the pinnacle of alcohol consumption, communication, and sociability in the American colonies. New York's taverns and grogshops frequently played host to British officers, troops, and sailors, bringing the Sons of Liberty and friends of government face to face. Clubs and associations, laws and polite hierarchies were in place to maintain an orderly tavern setting. Yet rebels and other dissenters often capitalized on the entropic, drunken atmosphere of taverns to create societal disorder and political upheaval. In the complex world of New York politics, whichever faction could organize and rally tavern companies would have the greatest success at mobilizing the populace. During the imperial crisis, taverns or public houses brought together a cross-class political network that was necessary for the coherence of a revolutionary alliance.

Keywords: New York City,, taverns,, drinking,, alcohol,, sociability,, Sons of Liberty,, clubs,, associations,, communication,, disorder,