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The drinking laws were set at 21, because that was the common established drinking age in most of the country prior to the 1960s and 70s. There were some execptions, and in some states (such as Illinois) there were different ages for males and females. Following the enactment of the twenty-sixth ammendment in 1971, twenty-nine states lowered their drinking ages to be more in line with the lowered voting age and legal threshhold for adulthood. Legislation to raise the drinking age sought to bring it back to the previous norm of 21. Medical science had little to do with it, most pressure came from the increase in the number of teen fatalities in drunk driving accidents.
The main issue with the difference between fatalities in the US vs. Europe is that most Europeans cannot get a driver's license before 18; most do not own their own car when they do; and Europeans are far more likely to use public transportation.
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