Johnny Appleseed: Article Analysis

This week’s reading topic is about Johnny Appleseed. In the Smithsonian article “The Real Johnny Appleseed Brought Apples- and Booze- to the American Frontier” by Natasha Geiling, it talks about the original purpose of the apple that were brought by John Chapman, a prolific nurseryman, to the frontier. Unlike today apples, the apples in the early 1800s plants by Chapman, were not primary used for eating. Instead, “they were used to make America 's beverage-of-choice at the time, hard apple cider.” During the early 1800s, in purpose of making a profit from the incoming frontiersmen, Chaman took advantage of cultivating orchards by advancing just ahead of settlers, as they wander from Pennsylvania to Illinois. From here, Chapman proceed to make a sell with the frontiersmen when they arrived. Afterward, Chapman headed to more undeveloped lands to plants more apples. At the time, all of Chapman’s orchards are planted from seed, meaning that his apples were, for the most part, unfit for eating. In other words, the planted apples were used primarily for drinking, not eating. Apple cider provided those on the frontier with a safe, stable source of drink, and in a time and place where water could be full of dangerous bacteria, cider could be imbibed without worry. Cider was a huge part of frontier

In addition, it was very interesting to learn about the original purpose of apples during the 1800s. I have learned about the importance of apple cider during the time and how apple cider is a huge part of frontier life since the water source could be full of dangerous bacteria. Surprisingly, apple cider took the place of not only wine and beer but of coffee and tea, juice, and even water in the rural parts. Lastly, I would like to give thanks to Johnny Chapman for the varieties of apples like the delicious, the golden delicious, and more. Thanks to Johnny Chapman, I was able to enjoy the delightful American apple pie and possibly with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on the