The Temperance Movement

Overview of the Temperance Movement

• A social movement in the U.S. during the 19th and early 20th centuries, aiming to restrict or abolish alcohol consumption.
• Achieved federal success during the Progressive Era with the Eighteenth Amendment.
• Initially favored beer and wine over liquor due to lower alcohol content.
• Later advocated for teetotalism (complete abstinence) as alcohol-related problems grew.
• Sought to eradicate the negative impacts of alcohol on society, families, and individuals.
• Promoted prohibition as a political solution and temperance as an individual solution.
• Engaged in protests and social/educational reforms due to slow adoption of their solutions.

History and Timeline

• Earliest organizations emerged around 1810, though abstinence pledges were in Protestant churches since 1800.
• By the mid-1830s, about 6,000 temperance organizations existed nationwide.
• 1800: Churches started abstinence pledges.
• 1808: First temperance organization created in Saratoga, New York.
• 1813: Temperance organization formed in Massachusetts.
• 1826: American Temperance Society formed, connecting temperance with religious purity.
• 1851: Order of Good Templars, the world's first international temperance organization, was created
• 1869: Prohibition Party founded, one of the first to admit women.
• 1874: Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) founded in Cleveland, Ohio.
• 1883: World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union formed
• 1893: Anti-Saloon League founded in Ohio.
• 1895: Anti-Saloon League becomes a national organization.
• 1909: First world prohibition conference in London establishes the International Prohibition Confederation
• 1917-18: Volstead Act/Eighteenth Amendment passed by Congress.
• 1919: Eighteenth Amendment ratified.

Causes and Influences

• Members believed alcohol destroyed individuals and families, with factory workers being significantly affected.
• Employers were concerned about intoxication increasing safety issues and decreasing productivity.
• Many organizations, largely composed of women, also advocated for issues like women's suffrage.
• Heavily influenced by Protestant Christianity, emphasizing societal betterment.
• Christian-based movements, like the Women's Christian Temperance Union, spread more successfully than secular ones.
• The Second Great Awakening revitalized Christian feeling, seeking to purge society of evils like alcohol.

Key Groups and Organizations

• Protestant groups in rural areas were primary supporters.
• Other entities include:
  • American Temperance Society
  • Women's Christian Temperance Union
  • Anti-Saloon League
  • Business owners
  • Methodist religious movement
• The movement grew significantly after the 1860s and became increasingly political.
• Activists used songs, media, pamphlets, and sermons to promote their cause.

Successes and Impact

• Achieved local success with state laws promoting temperance in the 19th century.
• Reached the federal level with the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment around 1920.
• The Eighteenth Amendment lasted for sixteen years until repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment.

Key Leaders and Organizations

• Leaders included Carrie Nation, Frances Willard, Howard Hyde Russell, and Wayne Wheeler.

Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

• Founded in 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio, to promote temperance and societal reform.
• Connected temperance with Christian virtues and sought political solutions.
• Francis Willard, the second president, expanded the WCTU's efforts to include legal and political actions.
• Willard's priorities included women's rights, suffrage, and social reform.
• In 1889, Willard became the first president of the National Council of Women.

Anti-Saloon League

• A modern lobbying group founded mostly by men.
• Focused solely on prohibition, unlike the WCTU.
• William Anderson was a prominent lobbyist.
• Howard Hyde Russell, a minister, founded the league through his Christian network.
• Wayne Wheeler used "pressure politics" to convince politicians to enforce prohibition.
• He inundated the legal system with alcohol-related lawsuits.

Political Significance and Impact

• The passage of the Volstead Act and the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was the most obvious effect.
• The prominence of women activists diminished as men's temperance organizations were created.
• The creation of women’s suffrage was postponed, but it was still a prominent debate subject.

Societal Significance and Impact

• There was a significant association of temperance with the fundamentalist Christian movement.
• Temperance education was connected to harmful racial stereotypes and misinformation.
• Extremism rose as political and societal reforms failed, causing resentment toward members.